Final Fantasy 7
by HiddenXEmotion
Summary: Jeanne Rush and your faves have returned to continue the Orignal and 1st Final Fantasy 7 Story! Picking up right where Crisis Core left off, the unbeatable Ex-SOLDIER once again finds herself in a peril concerning her previous Teacher/mother Sienna.
1. Opening and Characters

**IHOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Final Fantasy 7**

It has been Seven years since the events at Nibelheim and Hero Jeanne Rush returns with companions Cloud and Claire Strife. Meeting up with old acquaintance Tifa Lockhart, the three of them have joined the Anti-ShinRa group, AVALANCHE. With many ideas longing for revenge against ShinRa, Jeanne finds herself pulled into an even deeper problem when old friends…and Teachers…are pulled into the plot.

**Characters**

**Cloud Strife**

**Job: ****Mercenary**

**Age: ****21**

**Weapon: ****Sword**

**Height: ****5'7'**

**Birth date: ****August 19**

**Birthplace: ****Nibelheim **

**Blood type: ****AB**

One of the main characters in FF7. Originally members of SOLDIER, Cloud, his twin Claire, and Jeanne are now mercenaries who will take any job. After being hired by AVALANCHE, Cloud gradually gets caught up in a massive struggle for the life of the planet. His enormous sword can cut almost anything in two. He once held feeling's for SOLDIER'S top ranking officer Sienna, but now fights against them after what she and Sephiroth had down to his and his sister's hometown.

**Claire Strife**

**Job: ****Mercenary**

**Age: ****21**

**Weapon: ****Sword**

**Height: ****5'8'**

**Birth date: ****August 19**

**Birthplace: ****Nibelheim**

**Blood type: ****AB**

Claire is Cloud Strife's twin sister. She had left Nibelheim with her brother to become a strong, female SOLDIER like her idol, Sienna. She had developed a crush on Sephiroth as her brother had on Sienna, but after the Nibelheim incident, she closed off any feelings she held for their two commanding officers as best she could.

Claire now works as a mercenary with her brother Cloud and Jeanne, another woman from SOLDIER. Her sword may not be as big as her brother's, but it is swift and she is strong with it.

**Jeanne Rush**

**Job: ****Mercenary (Ex-SOLDIER member)**

**Age: ****25**

**Weapon: ****Sword**

**Height: ****5'9'**

**Birth date: ****June 17**

**Birthplace: ****Junon **

**Blood type: ****A**

Jeanne and her older sister Jena were taken from Junon by Sienna and brought back to Midgar. Jena turned to the Turks while Jeanne was made into a First Class SOLDIER by Sienna. Her partner and she had feelings develop and begin to evolve.

She soon regretted having Sienna be her teacher as the incident in Nibelheim arose, and even more so hated it when her partner left her. Cloud and Claire became her next, top priority since then.

Now as the struggle for the planet begins, her old lifestyle and secrets come out, as well as fighting her own sister begins.

She knows a secret about Cloud and Claire but she refuses to tell. She has also met Renee, Yuffie, Zeke, and Aerith before.

**Aerith Gainsborough**

**Job: ****Flower Merchant**

**Age: ****22**

**Weapon: ****Rod**

**Height: ****5'3'**

**Birth date: ****February 7**

**Birthplace: ****unknown **

**Blood type: ****O**

Young, beautiful, and somewhat mysterious, Aerith met Cloud and Claire while selling flowers on the streets of Midgar. She decided to join them soon after. Her unusual abilities enable her to use magic, but she seems more interested in the deepening love triangle between herself, Cloud, and Jeanne. She and Jeanne have met before, and their…patience…for each other is very thin.

**Tifa Lockheart**

**Job: ****Bar hostess, AVALANCHE Member**

**Age: ****20**

**Weapon: ****Glove**

**Height: ****5'4'**

**Birth date: ****May 3**

**Birthplace: ****Nibelheim **

**Blood type: ****B**

Bright and optimistic, Tifa always cheers up the others when they are down. But don't let her looks fool you, she can decimate almost anything with her fists. She is one of the main members of AVALANCHE. She, Cloud, and Claire were childhood friends and although she had strong feelings for Cloud when she was younger, they've developed just a close friendship.

**Barret Wallace**

**Job: ****Leader of AVALANCHE**

**Age: ****35**

**Weapon: ****Gun-arm**

**Height: ****6'4'**

**Birth date: ****December 15**

**Birthplace: ****Corel Village **

**Blood type: ****O**

Head of the underground resistance movement, AVALANCHE, Barret is fighting the mega-conglomerate Shinra inc. which has monopolized Mako energy by building special reactors to suck it out of the planet. Barret depends on Brute strength and his 'Gun-arm' to see him through. His wife died in an accident several years ago and he lives with his daughter Marlene.

**Red 13**

**Job: ****Beast**

**Age: ****48**

**Weapon: ****Headdress**

**Height: ****3'9'**

**Birth date: ****unknown**

**Birthplace: ****Cosmo Canyon**

**Blood type: ****unknown**

Just as his name implies, he is an animal with fire-red fur. But under his fierce exterior is an intelligence surpassing that of any human's. His sharp claws and fangs make him good at close-range fighting, but other than that, not much is known about him. Its not even certain that 'Red 13' is his real name. A real enigma.

**Cid Highwind**

**Job: ****Pilot**

**Age: ****32**

**Weapon: ****Spear**

**Height: ****5'8'**

**Birth date: ****February 22**

**Birthplace: ****Unknown**

**Blood type: ****B**

Cid is a tough-talking, warm-hearted old pilot who hasn't forgotten his dreams. There's no better pilot by air or sea. He believes someday he'll fly to the ends of the universe. With his handmade spear and knowledge of machinery, he throws himself into any attack regardless of the danger…unless Renee is involved.

**Renee Sivil**

**Job: ****Mechanic**

**Age: ****29**

**Weapon: ****Hammer**

**Height: ****5'7'**

**Birth date: ****March 16**

**Birthplace: ****Wutai **

**Blood type: ****AB**

A mechanic that has been working for Cid for years. She is Yuffie's Aunt, being the sister of her father. Being born in Wutai, she left it wanting nothing to do with the constant war between them and Shinra, resulting in the change of her name to get away from it all. She met Cid around the age of 21 and has been with him since then, trying to help him accomplish his dreams of spaceflight. She was sad that Cid missed his chance to travel into space. She has been doing everything she can to make him happy, even if it results in keeping her feelings for Cid behind bars. She also has met Jeanne on several accounts with her Niece, Yuffie.

**Yuffie Kisaragi**

**Job: ****Ninja, Materia Hunter**

**Age: ****16**

**Weapon: ****Knife, boomerang, **

**Height: ****5'2'**

**Birth date: ****November 20**

**Birthplace: ****Wutai **

**Blood type: ****A**

All though you'd never know it by looking at her, Yuffie comes from a long line off Ninja. She forced herself into the group just to get a 'certain something'. She's sneaky, arrogant, and way selfish, but with her super shuriken and her special skills, there isn't anyone else you'd rather have on your side in a fight.

**Cait Sith**

**Job: ****Toysaurus**

**Age: ****unknown**

**Weapon: ****Megaphone**

**Height: ****3'2'**

**Birth date: ****unknown**

**Birthplace: ****unknown**

**Blood type: ****unknown**

Cait Sith rides on the back of a huge, stuffed Moggle he magically brought to life. Megaphone in hand, he's always shouting orders and creating dopey attacks. When his slot machines attack works, the enemy lines look like an overturned toybox. His hobby is fortune-telling, but like his personality, its pretty unreliable. He is a great listener as Claire and Jeanne soon find out.

His identity though, is soon figured out by Jeanne, but is kept secret.

**Vincent Valentine**

**Job: ****Unemployed (ex-Turk)**

**Age: ****27**

**Weapon: ****Gun**

**Height: ****6'**

**Birth date: ****October 13**

**Birthplace: ****Unknown **

**Blood type: ****A**

A mystical man, stern and upright while at the same time dark and mysterious that has seemed to caught Claire's attention. His past connection with Shinra Inc. is what made him join Claire and the others. He may seem frail at first glance, but hidden inside is body lurks a fearsome power.

**Jena Rush**

**Job: ****Turk**

**Age: ****26**

**Weapon: ****Electric Rod and a gun**

**Height: ****5'10'**

**Birth date: ****January 16**

**Birthplace: ****Junon **

**Blood type: ****A**

Older sister to Jeanne, Jena is now, once again, partners with Reno and Rude of the Turks when she is not on her own. She knows that Shinra is ruining the world, but due to the feelings she holds concerning Reno AND Rufus Shinra, she can't leave and fight against them. She doesn't like the thought of fighting her sister, but she will.

**Zeke Fair**

**Job: ****Archeologist**

**Age: ****24**

**Weapon: ****Lance**

**Height: ****6'3'**

**Birth date: ****June 28**

**Birthplace: ****Gongaga **

**Blood type: ****B**

Not much is known about this man, except he wants revenge for his cousin, Zack. He joined the group after tracking Yuffie down for stealing his Materia. Jeanne is familiar to him, being the last one he saw with his cousin before he was reported dead. He also recognizes Cloud's sword.

**Sephiroth**

**Job: ****Top Rank SOLDIER Officer**

**Age: ****unknown**

**Weapon: ****Long Sword**

**Height: ****6'1'**

**Birth date: ****unknown**

**Birthplace: ****unknown**

**Blood type: ****unknown**

Even amongst the elite troops of SOLDIER, Sephiroth is known to be the best. His past is locked away into a confidential file held by Shinra Inc. His giant sword, which only he can wield, has extremely destructive power. Both he and Sienna are said to have disappeared in a battle years ago. Their current whereabouts are unknown.

**Sienna**

**Job: ****Top Ranking SOLDIER Officer**

**Age: ****unknown**

**Weapon: ****Ice sword**

**Height: ****5'11**

**Birth date: ****unknown**

**Birthplace: ****unknown **

**Blood type: ****unknown**

Said to be known as the female version of Sephiroth, she is as feared as her lover is. Her confidential file is held by Shinra Inc. and her sword freezes and shatters what it stabs. She is the one that brought Jeanne and her sister Jena to Midgar after a short trip to Junon. She saw inspiration in the two sisters and took them under her wing. While Jena decided to go with the Turks, Jeanne stayed with Sienna, becoming one of the two women to ever become a SOLDIER, the other being Sienna herself. She was said to disappear during a battle years ago with Sephiroth.


	2. Chapter 1

**IHOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Chapter One**

**We're Back!**

Midgar was under nightfall, a train running through the city. As it pulled up to a stop, two guards ran towards it only to be knocked senseless by three AVALANCHE members as they jumped out of the train. They were followed by a large man with a gun arm and then two blonde others. They looked to be twins, the man with short, spiky hair, the woman with long hair to her shoulders. Both wore black clothes, dressed like SOLDIER and swords strapped to their backs.

The Man with the gun-arm, his name was Barret Wallace, wore green pants, a net shirt, and a grey, sleeveless vest that hung open. He turned to the twins.

"C'mon newcomers. Follow me." He ran after the other three.

The woman scoffed, crossing her arms. "We do have names, you know." She called, but Barret was already gone. She sighed.

Her brother gave a chuckle. "Let's get this done with so we can get paid and leave."

"Yeah," She uncrossed her arms. "Lets…" She knelt down beside the unconscious guard and picked up his potion and money.

Her brother slapped a hand to his forehead. _Only my sister,_ he thought. "Claire," He struggled to keep his anger under control. "What are you doing?"

Claire ran over to the second man and did the same to him. "Call it, 'a surprise' for when they wake up. They'll be so mad. I only wish I could watch it." She straightened up now. "C'mon Cloud. Let's go."

As they ran out after the others, two more guards ran out to cut them off. "You see," Cloud moaned. "If you hadn't taken time to rob THOSE two, we wouldn't have run into THESE two."

Claire rolled her eyes. "Shut up, Cloud. I know fighting doesn't bother you." Cloud grinned and both guards were gone in moments. "See," Claire teased. "Was that so hard?"

Her brother only shook his head and grabbed her hand. "Let's hurry after them. You don't want to make Barret mad again, do you?"

Claire only shrugged and followed her brother. They quickly caught up to the three AVALANCHE members. Jessie, was trying to open a door, Biggs and Wedge stood to the side, keeping a lookout and Barret was nowhere to be seen.

Biggs looked at the twins. "Wow! You two used to be in SOLDIER all right! Not every day ya find them in a little group like AVALANCHE."

Jessie looked up in alarm. "SOLDEIR? Aren't they the enemy? What are they doing with us in AVALANCHE?"

Biggs held up his hands in defense as Claire watched with an amused look. "Hold it, Jessie. They WERE in SOLDEIR. They quit them and now are one of us," He then turned back to the twins. "I didn't catch your names."

"…Cloud." The man answered coldly.

"Claire." Her answer was a little nicer and was accompanied by a small smile.

Biggs smiled back, pleased that at least one of them weren't hard and cold. "Cloud and Claire, eh? Twins, right?"

"Of course," Claire nodded, her smile still there as she crossed her arms.

"I'm-"

Cloud shook his head. "I don't care what your names are. Once this job is over…I'm outta here."

Claire shot her brother a look. "What has Jeanne told you about that, Cloud? If she were here and heard you being rude like that…" She turned back to the other man. "My apologies. Biggs, right?"

The man nodded, but before he could speak Barret showed back up. "The hell you all doing?" He demanded. "I thought I told you never to move in a group. Our target's the North Reactor. We'll meet on the bridge in front of it." Jessie got the door open and they all ran through. Barret paused and turned back to the twins. "Ex-SOLDIERS, huh? Don't trust ya!"

Clare gave him a smile, though it was crude. "Never asked you too."

Barret fought with himself to any anything and turned to follow after his group. Cloud and Claire exchanged a glare before following them. Monsters popped up here and there as they tried to protect the way to the Reactor, but they were easy as the twins fought in silence, that was until they caught up with Barret, Biggs and Jessie.

"Yo! This is your first time in a Reactor?" Barret asked.

The twins both rolled their eyes simultaneously. "No. After all, we did work for Shinra, you know."

"The planet's full of Mako energy." Barret began. "People here use it everyday. It's the lifeblood of this planet. But Shinra keeps suckin' the blood out with these weird machines."

Cloud shook his head. "I'm not here for a lecture. Let's just hurry."

Barret glared at him. "That's it! You're both comin' with me from now on!"

Claire smiled. "Aww, Mr. Gun-arm wants to make sure he'll have someone to blame if he screws this up on his own." She winked at them all as she boarded the elevator.

Barret growled and they followed her; Cloud with a smirk on his face. As the elevator went down, Barret continued his speech.

"Little by little, the Reactors'll drain out all the life and that'll be that."

Cloud and Claire shrugged as they both responded - "It's not my problem."

"The planet is dying, you two!" Barret cried in shock.

"They only thing we care about is finishing this job before security and the Roboguards come," Cloud told him.

"If Shinra wants to be stupid and continue killing the planet, that's their problem and responsibility. Not mine. Let them carry the weight and guilt on their shoulders." Claire added.

Barret turned from both of them, clenching his fist in anger and silence as the Elevator stopped.

Quickly and quietly they followed Jessie down three sets of stairs and ran through a door. They then jumped over a hole in the floor, climbed down a ladder and down another flight of stairs after Claire had picked up another potion from the ground. There was another ladder to climb down, a pipe to run across to the last ladder. The three of them paused at the start of the bridge that led to the Reactor.

Claire sat on the bridge railing and looked at Barret. "So, what exactly was it that you're paying Jeanne to do while we're here?"

Barret glanced at her before turning away, mumbling under his breath.

"What was that?" Cloud asked.

"She's…while…runs…"

Claire giggled as she and Cloud shared a look. "Can't hear you, Barret."

"She's watching Marlene while Tifa runs the bar."

Claire and Cloud's laughs turned to looks of rage. "You're making her baby-sit your daughter?"

He coughed. "I wasn't going to have three of you ex-SOLDIERS on my ass through this mission. I can barely stand two of you!"

"Aww," Claire stood up and began to walk across the bridge. "We love you too, Mr. Gun-arm." Cloud snickered and followed his sister, leaving Barret to chase them.

Cloud picked up the 'Restore' materia that Claire had walked over.

"When we blow this place, this ain't gonna be nothing more than a hunka junk." Barret announced. "Cloud, you set the bomb." He ordered.

Cloud raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you do it?"

"He's afraid you'll pull something, Cloud." Claire told her brother. "So hurry up and do it so we can leave." She said with a wave on her hand as she closed her eyes and leaned against the railing again. Cloud gave his sister a nod and began to set the bomb. When he was finished, an alarm went off. "Good going Cloud," Claire teased as she drew her sword.

Before Cloud could reply the red Guard Scorpion fell out of the ceiling and began to attack them.

"Watch out for the tail." Claire called as her sword cut through out on the machines legs in half. "If you hit it, it'll counter with a laser!"

Cloud and Barret both nodded in response. Barret kept the machine busy with his gun-arm while Claire and Cloud hacked it away into pieces.

Cloud landed gracefully on his feet. "Come on, let's get out of here! We have ten minutes before the detonation!"

They quickly backtracked their path, not stopping for anything except the occasional monsters. Cloud had stopped to help Jessie free her leg, but after that they were free to make it outside. Claire, Cloud, and Barret were all standing straight while the other three were bent over and breathing hard from the running.

"All right," Barret said after catching his breath. "Now, let's get out of here. Rendezvous at Sector 8 station! Split up and get on the train." The three members nodded and left and Cloud turned to Barret.

"Where's our money?" He asked.

Barret held back his anger. "Save it until we're back at the hideout." He told them before running off himself.

Claire watched him with a frown. "He's hiding something…something that he doesn't like thinking about."

Cloud looked at his sister in slight surprise. "You think so?"

"Yes. I can feel it. Do you think he works for Shinra and is two-timing us?"

Cloud had to pause for another moment. When it comes to things like this, Claire's instincts were normally right." "I'm not sure," He finally decided to answer her. "but we better make it to the train. Let's just keep an eye on him until something happens."

Claire nodded in agreement. "Yes. I suppose that's a better idea than attacking him and looking like a group of idiots when we find out he's a good guy, right?" She laughed as they walked, but quickly, through the city. Everyone was running around in panic but the twins and a young woman in a red dress. The woman was knocked down by the running others. Claire glared after them before turning to help her up. "Are you okay?" She asked as Cloud stopped beside her.

"Yes," The woman answered. "Thank you," She then turned to Cloud. "Do you know what happened?"

"No," He answered, looking behind him.

"Hey! Look Cloud! Flowers!" Claire smiled. Her brother rolled his eyes and the women in red smiled.

"Do you like them? Want one? They're only 1 gill each."

"C'mon Cloud! Buy one!" Claire smiled.

"Why?" He asked.

"Cloud, you can give it to Jeanne! Just imagine the smile she'll give you! One thing can lead to…" She fell silent as her brother gazed into space, a blush creeping out over his cheeks. She slapped him In the back of the head with an annoyed look on her face. "Keep your mind out of the gutter. I had meant a 'thank you hug' or a kiss on the cheek, not that." She turned back to the giggling woman in red. "One flower, please." After that, the woman left, and Claire handed the flower to her brother. "Now, keep this safe and give it to Jeanne when we get back to the bar, okay?"

Cloud laughed at his sister. "Okay, let's just hurry up and go." He grabbed her hand and led the way through the city. They were on the overpass above the railway when the Shinra Infantrymen attacked them. They fought them off as best they could, but there was just too many.

The train began to pass under them and Cloud got an idea. He picked Claire up and held her tightly. "Cloud what are you doing?" She demanded.

"Do you trust me?" He asked.

"Yes. Of course I DOOOOOOO!" She screamed as Cloud jumped over the railing and they began to drop down to the train. "CLOUD! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" She closed her eyes as she screamed and clung to her brother's neck tightly. She heard his chuckle and opened her eyes. They were safely on top on the back of the train as it continued its path. She pulled away and slapped his shoulder. "Don't you ever do that again! I swear, you're going to kill us one of these days! Don't you remember what happened last time? Sephiroth and Sienna both…" Claire's voice vanished and pain appeared on both their faces as they looked away from the other.

"Come on," Cloud fought back memories. "Let's get inside the train."

She nodded and followed her brother.

"Look's like we're a little late." Cloud announced as he landed, running a hand through his hair as Claire landed beside him and added a -"Miss us?"

"You damn right, you're late!" Barret shouted. "Come waltzin' in here making a big scene.

Cloud shrugged his shoulders while Claire responded - "It's no big deal. Just what we do."

"Shit!" Barret stomped his feet. "Having everyone worried like that and you don't give a damn 'bout no one but yourselves!"

His comments made rage boil up inside Clare. "You know what, we have a right not to care about anyone but ourselves you stupid-" Cloud grabbed his sister and she fell silent as the rest of them all began to wonder.

The rest of the train ride was silent for Claire as she ignored everyone and everything while Cloud spoke to Jessie. She prayed that the train arrived at the Sector Seven Slums soon. The sooner that they got paid, the sooner Barret and comments would be out of her life.

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	3. Chapter 2

**IHOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Chapter Two**

**7****th**** Heaven**

Claire and Cloud watched as Barret chased people out of the 7th Heaven bar, firing his gun all over the place. Claire slapped a hand to her head.

"Why doesn't he just ask them to leave? It would be nicer and the people living here wouldn't hate him."

Cloud shrugged. "It's got nothing to do with us, Claire. Let's get paid, grab Jeanne, and get on out of here." Claire nodded and followed her brother into the bar.

A young girl ran towards Cloud. "Papa!" She cried, thinking that it was Barret, but when she saw that it was Cloud, she ran to a corner and began to cry.

Claire burst out laughing as her brother pulled a face and a woman with long black hair ran to comfort the child.

"I swear," The laughing woman patted her brother's back. "Only you can walk into a room and scare a child into crying just by your face." Cloud went to reply, but someone cut him off.

"What did you do to Marlene this time, Cloud?"

The Twins looked behind them at the woman that stood there.

She was about 25 in a pair of black jeans with a white tank top and a matching white, long rider jacket that hung to her black, flat bottom boots. A pair of crystal earrings hung in her ears, an amethyst ring was on her left hand, and a single, white feather was hanging in her hair on the left side of her head.

She wore a frown on her face and her hands on her hips.

"Hello Jeanne." Jeanne Rush gave Claire a smile and a nod before her frown returned when she gazed back at Cloud.

"Well?"

Cloud shook his head. "I didn't do anything to her. I just walked into the building and she started crying."

"Well, shouldn't that tell you something then?" The other young woman in black and white, Tifa was her name, giggled.

"Yeah, like you need to wipe that look away. Oh wait…" Claire giggled with her.

"That's just your face!" The two girls said together.

"It must be stuck like that!"

"But how?"

"Because he always wears that look, that's why!"

Jeanne rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I swear, the two of you should be the twins," She told Tifa and Claire. "Always picking on poor ole' Cloud like that and finishing each other's sentences."

"Oh, we're just teasing, aren't we, Tif?" Claire smiled.

"Yes, that's right," The other young woman smiled. "Just teasing! We mean no harm by it."

Cloud rolled his eyes and turned to leave the bar, but Barret came running in so he jumped on the table and crossed his legs patiently. Claire and Jeanne joined him as Marlene turned happy again.

"Papa, welcome home!" She cried, running to him. Barret picked her up and placed her on his right shoulder.

"You all right, Barret?" Tifa asked.

Barret waved his hand. "Great!" He then turned to Jesse and the other two. "Get in here, fools! We're starting the meeting." He then walked over to the pinball machine and banged on it. It fell into the floor like an elevator and the other three followed him. Cloud, Claire, and Jeanne went to the bar where Tifa now stood again. They were immediately handed their drinks. Always the same.

"You know, we're relieved that you made it back safely," Tifa smiled. "Both of us."

Jeanne's face stayed blank. "I was never worried. The Strife twins can take care of themselves just fine."

Cloud and Claire nodded in agreement. "What's with you all of a sudden?" Cloud asked Tifa. "That wasn't even a tough job."

"Yeah," Claire agreed with a smile. "Nothing compared to all the crap we went through as First Class SOLDIERS."

"I guess not…" Tifa and Jeanne shared a secret look. Tifa then added - "Make sure you get your pay from Barret."

"Don't worry. Once I get that money, I'm outta here. All three of us are." Claire nodded in agreement with her brother.

Cloud stood up and went to walk towards the pinball machine again, but then remembered something. He pulled out that red flower they had bought earlier and held it out to Jeanne. Claire and Tifa watched in interest as Jeanne looked at him in surprise.

"What's this?" She asked.

"What does it look like?" Cloud responded with a smile. "It's a flower. We-I bought it on our way to the train from a young woman, and I thought instantly of you, so…here."

Jeanne stared at the flower for a moment. _A young woman…selling flowers. No way. It couldn't be…could it? _She quickly pulled herself back out of her thoughts and smiled at Cloud.

"Thanks. That's really sweet. I appreciate it," She leaned forward in her chair and gave him a swift kiss on his cheek. "Now, the two of you had better get downstairs before Barret gets mad at you, all right?"

"Yeah, c'mon Cloud." Claire grabbed the arm of her blushing brother and began to lead him to the machine. As they went down, Jeanne gave the flower another look, and then crushed it in her hand.

All thoughts of that woman made her so mad!

Tifa looked at her in surprise. "What did you do that for?"

Jeanne turned back to her, hate burning in her eyes. That made Tifa even more surprised. She had never seen Jeanne that mad before, not even when Sephiroth and Sienna had gone crazy.

"The only woman I know that sells flowers," Jeanne's voice was cold and crypt, straining to keep from talking too loud. "Is someone that I don't exactly…tend to get along with." Tifa's expression explained that she still didn't understand what she was saying. "You remember when we first met?" She continued. "Who I was with?" Tifa nodded. "Well, the little flower girl, had a thing for him too, and…let's just say, a triangle broke out." ~Until I won in the end. But still…Just think about her infuriates me to no end~

"Oh," Tifa sounded sad. "I'm sorry," She grabbed the crumbled flower and threw it in the trash before piling it with empty bottles so Cloud nor Claire would be able to see it.

Jeanne sighed as all thoughts of Aerith brought back thoughts of Zack. Not like she didn't think about that man almost every minute of everyday anyway. Zack was always there in her mind, haunting her every thought. And it hurt that she couldn't talk to Cloud or Claire about him. The Twins had locked all thoughts of Zack away and began to believe that they were the SOLDIER members that were her partners back in the day. Jeanne wanted to tell them everything but she just didn't get around to it. Talking about Zack was a lot worse that just remembering him.

Tifa didn't want to tell them what really happened in Nibelheim those days either, so the two of them never mentioned it really; even to each other.

**The room below held a T.V. that was talking about the explosion that AVALANCHE had constructed. **A bulletin board held plans as even more were on the table. Jesse was doing something on the computer, Biggs and Wedge were at the table, and Barret was with Marlene at a punching bag in a corner.

"Yo, Cloud! There's something I wanna ask ya. Was there anyone from SOLDIER fighting us today?"

Claire shook her head as her brother replied – "None. I'm positive."

"You sound pretty sure." Barret grumbled.

"The ones there were all Infantrymen. Couldn't you tell by the uniforms?"  
>Claire asked.<p>

"If there was anyone from SOLDIER you wouldn't be standing her right now." The blond man told him.

"Hey! Don't think you can act all bad just cuz you were in SOLDIER!" Barret warned them.

Cloud turned around as his sister stuck her tongue out. "Oh yes we can! Just wait until you see Jeanne in action! Now she's really really bad!"

Barret wanted to let loose but Biggs held him back until he was knocked off and slammed against the wall. "Yeah, the three of you are strong. Probably all them guys in SOLDIER are but don't forget that your skinny asses are working for AVALANCHE now! Don't get no ideas 'bout hanging onto ShinRa." He warned them.

Claire glared at him. "Stay with ShinRa? Are you stupid?" She asked.

"You asked me a question and I answered it…that's all." Cloud told him. He shook his head. "We're going back upstairs. I want to talk about our money."

It seemed that Tifa decided to finally join them. "Cloud. Claire, wait!"

"Tifa!" Barret called. "Let them go! Looks like they still miss ShinRa!"

"Just shut up!" Claire growled. "You don't know anything! ShinRa and SOLDIER both can go rot in hell for all I care!"

"And AVALANCHE and the rest of the planet can join them, too." Cloud hissed before the twins headed back up.

Jeanne was still sitting at the bar; drinking from the glass that Tifa had given her earlier. Her brown, leather bag that she always had with her was sitting by her feet and her face was blank as she seemed to be lost in thoughts. She jumped a bit at the feel of Claire's hand on her shoulder and spun around in the chair. "What's up?" She asked.

"Come on," Cloud called to her from the door. "We're leaving."

Downing what was left in her glass, Jeanne grabbed her bag. "What happened?"

"Oh, just Barret and his usual self. He just let his mouth move too much. Too bad you weren't down there with us. I would have loved watching you beat his ass." Claire told her with a grin.

Jeanne gave a laugh and headed towards the door but Tifa decided to join them again and blocked the door so they couldn't leave.

"Listen Guys," Tifa began. "I'm asking you to please join AVALANCHE. Permanently."

Cloud shook his head. "Sorry Tifa."

"The planet is dying! Slowly but surely its dying," Tifa told them. "Someone has to do something!"

"So let Barret and his little Rat pack take care of it," Jeanne replied. "I don't care. All I want is my revenge."

"Yeah," Claire agreed. "This has nothing to do with us."

"But we're fighting against ShinRa, Jeanne! ShinRa's the one destroying everything! Don't you want to stop them? You can get your revenge by helping us!"

Jeanne sighed and sat back down, grabbing the whole bottle of alcohol this time. Seeing how everything was about to go, she was going to need a lot of it.

"And you! You have to remember your promise!" Tifa pointed at Cloud.

As Cloud remembered his promise, Claire sat down beside Jeanne with a sigh. ~There goes us leaving~ She thought.

Claire remembered that Tifa had a crush on her brother when they were younger. She thought that the two of them would look cute together once, but now…let's just say that Claire was glad they were only friends now.

Barret climbed back up to the 1st floor. The look on his face announced that he was surprised to see the three of them still there; especially as two of them were sitting there at the bar, one with her head thrown back and chugging a bottle down.

Turning to Cloud, Barret dug into his shirt. "A promise is a promise. Here!" He tossed the young man the 3000 Gil he owed the three of them.

Cloud stared at it for a moment. "This is our pay? Don't make me laugh."

"Then you'll…" Tifa sounded happy, waiting for an answer.

Cloud looked past them all and to Jeanne. She set the now empty bottle on the counter and shook her shoulders before turning to look back at him. She shrugged. Tifa wasn't her friend. Besides, as long as she got to dish out her revenge against ShinRa and Kill Hojo and the ShinRa Head, it didn't matter how she got there. Cloud nodded and turned back to Barret.

"If you got the next mission lined up, we'll do it for 5000."  
>"What?" Barret cried.<p>

"It's okay," Tifa calmed him down and then whispered – "We're really hurting for help, right?"

He whispered back – "That money's for Marlene's Schoolin'!" He looked back at Cloud before turning his back with crossed arms. "4000!"

Cloud sighed and Tifa smiled. "Thanks guys. I appreciate you helping us."

Jeanne stood up again and grabbed her bag from her feet again. "After this is all over though, don't expect me to stick around." She turned and headed up the stairs back to the room that they had given her.

To be honest, Jeanne didn't know what she was going to do with the rest of her life after ShinRa was destroyed. She never really thought about it. Hell, she doubted that she was even going to survive the big one in the end, so she didn't like thinking about it.

But if she somehow did survive, she definitely wasn't staying in Midgar. Too many memories of too many people that she missed.

Her sister included.

**Don't worry guys! Jena will be back soon! I promise. The Next chapter, actually :)**

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	4. Chapter 3

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Chapter Three**

**London Bridges**

The next morning, Cloud, Claire, Jeanne, Tifa, and Barret were all eating. Jeanne had been chosen to stay behind and watch the bar and Marlene again, this time while Tifa went with the others.

Jeanne didn't like the thought of being used as a babysitter but what could she really do now that Cloud and Claire were going off again? And besides, she wouldn't just leave the little girl alone like that. She would feel horrible if something were to happen to Marlene after she left and so, she decided to just grin and bear it.

Soon the four of them left, Jesse and the other three following them. They were going after the 5th Mako Reactor this time. The train wasn't that far away and the seven of them were soon on their way. They separated into two cars and after Tifa restrained Barret from beating up a man in a suit that looked like he was about to (or already did) piss himself, Cloud decided to ask-

"So, what's our next target?"

"Shit! The hell you so calm about?" Barret asked. "You bustin' up my rhythm." The twins shared a look and Claire pulled an annoyed face when the train tracks squealed as it began to move.

"Seems like they just finished connections the cars. We're finally leaving," Tifa sighed.

"So, what's our next target?" Claire repeated her brother's question. ""Hah! Listen to the Serious-about-their-work-Twins!" Barret laughed. "Awright. I'll tell ya! Jessie's probably already told you, but there's a security check point at the top of the plate. It's an ID scan system checkin' all the trains."

"Which ShinRa is very proud of," Tifa decided to add with a frown.

"We can't use out Fake ID's anymore." Barret told them.

"Good Morning," The train's intercom went off. "And welcome to Midgar Lines. Arrival time at Sector 4 Station will be 11:45."

"That mean's we've only got three minutes till the ID Checkpoint." Tifa said.

Barret moved down the train as he called back to them. "Alright, in three minutes, we're jumping off this train! Got it?"

Barret sat down and Tifa called Cloud over to check out the map like he had with Jessie the day before, leaving Claire to sit down as well. She found herself thinking about that man from her dreams again. She hadn't been to Nibelheim since the Sephiroth/Sienna demolition. Had the Mansion been destroyed as well? She didn't know why, but something told her that the man in her dreams was that man locked below in that room in the cellar. The last time she was there, she, Cloud and Jeanne had found two of the numbers to open the safe upstairs in the mansion to get the key to the locked room, but everything else happened before she could free him. She hoped that he was still okay. She was going to go free him after she helped Jeanne get her revenge.

After all, Jeanne was the one that had saved them from the Mansion. Claire had to help her first before she would help her again.

Everything was quiet for a while until a red light went off and an alarm sounded.

"That's odd," Tifa glanced around. "The ID Check Point was supposed to be further down."

"_Type A Security Alert!" _A computerized voice sounded. _"Unidentified Passengers confirmed…A Search of all cars will be conducted. Repeat! Type A Security Alert! Unidentified Passengers confirmed…A Search of all cars will be conducted."_

"What's going on?" Barret asked, jumping out of his seat as Tifa asked – "What's happening?"

"What do you think's happening?" Claire stood up herself. "We've already been caught!"

Jessie came running to them from the other car. "We're in trouble." She claimed. "I'll explain later. Hurry! Get to the next Car!" She turned and left.

"Someone blew it." Barret cursed.

"_Unidentified Passengers located in Car #1. Preparing from Lockdown."_

"Let's go!" Barret ordered. "Keep up!" He led the three of them through to the next car and another one until the alarm shut off. "Awright! We clear!" The big man asked.

"Not yet," Jessie answered. "They're starting another check. If we're caught, we're done for!"

"Then let's not get caught." Claire told her.

Jessie nodded. "Right. If we move the train, car by car, we should get past it." She ran off to the next car as the alarms went off again.

"_Unidentified Passengers: Moving to front of train. Currently tracking down."_

"Ugh, what's with these guys?" Claire asked as she and her brother headed towards to the next car." "Do they-Ahhh!" She yelped at the feel of a hand in her pocket. "Pervert!" She shouted, kicking the man that touch in his face before hurrying after the others. They made it to the last car but the alarms were still going off and they upgraded to Maximum Security.

"All right! We made it!" Barret grinned as he stood by the door.

"What do you mean we 'made it'?" Claire asked. "The only way out is…" She paused and put it all together. "Oh, hell no! You're crazier than he is!" She pointed at her brother. "First you want me to jump onto a moving train and now you want me to jump off of one? No way!"

Moving behind his sister, Cloud closed his eyes before lifting a foot and kicking her out if the moving train. She kept her mouth shut and curled into a roll, hissing when her hand was scrapped. Cloud and Tifa soon joined her and she went to slap her brother upside the head but he dodged it with a smirk. She went to speak but Barret joined them next.

"You all okay?" They nodded, Claire still giving her brother a glare. "Good. So far, everything's going as planned." Barret said. "Jesse, Wedge, and Biggs stayed on the train so it was just the 4 of them now. "Better not let your guard down till we get to the Sector 5 Reactor. The other three got everything ready for us so move it. The Reactor's just down this tunnel!"

It wasn't really that long like Barret had said and Claire paused at the sight if 6 Green lightbeams.

"Those are the ShinRa's security Sensors. We can't go any further." Her brother announced.

"How about through here then?" Claire asked, pulling a grate out of the wall.

Barret looked horrified.(lol poor Barret) "That's one damn tiny hole. You telling me to squeeze into that to get under the plate? No way!"

"Well, the 3 of us could do it ourselves and you can stay here." Cloud told him.

That seemed to make him more horrified and he shoved Cloud out of the way, mumbling about 'Getting the Chills' as he slid down. Tifa followed and the twins shared a grin before they both jumped in.

After making their way past the silver-like path and then down a few more ladders, the four of them came across Jessie and the other two.

"Hey, didn't you say that the three of them were staying on the train?" Claire asked. "What are they doing here?"

Barret gave her a look as Jessie apologized to Cloud.

"Everything on the train was my fault," She was saying. "I had tried to make your ID Card special, but I failed. I'm sorry." She apologized before running off to finish her other part of the job.

"Oh, she made your ID Card special!" Claire teased her brother as they made their way down another ladder. "Wait until I tell Jeanne!"

"No!" Cloud shook his head as he waved his hands. "Don't tell her that!"

"It's not like it's a big problem after all. Jeanne won't mind, I'm sure." Tifa told her friend as they stopped in front of a blue, tilted pipe.

"You can't tell her anything!" Cloud told his sister.

The two girls shared a giggle. "All right," Claire turned back to the pipe. "Who wants to go down the creepy pipe of doom first?"

"Oh hell no! I went down the hole in the wall put I sure as hell ain't going down the pipe! I'll find another way down!" Barret crossed his arms.

They all sighed and Claire stood up. "All right, but can you see anything down there, at least? Am I going to be sliding into something?" Barret leaned over to try and see into the dark pipe.

Bad Mistake.

Taking what Cloud did to her on the train, Claire kicked Barret in the but, sending him face first into the Pipe.

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" HE screamed on the way down.

"Next?" Claire moved out of the way and bowed to Tifa. Tifa giggled and she slid down before Cloud and Claire followed her.

"WWWWWWHHHHHHEEEEEE!" Claire threw her hands in the air as they went down the pipe. Tifa giggled at her friend, Cloud rolled his eyes, and Barret still help that horrified look on his face, still shouting about how he was going to kill Claire.

After five minutes of Barret chasing and shooting after a laughing Claire, they soon found themselves at another path just like the one that they were on the day before with the ladders and then path that led to the reactor. They were about to reach the Reactor when Cloud fell to his knees, holding his head. Claire's had begun to hurt too, but only like a light pinch.

"Cloud? Are you all ri-" The moment she knelt down and touched her brother's arm, she found herself drug into a memory from Nibelheim.

_They were back at the Nibelheim reactor. Claire and Cloud were still on the floor of the path and Tifa, dressed up in her little cowboy outfit, was leaning over her dead father._

"_Papa…" She whined. "Sephiroth…and Sienna!" The name made Claire's heart jump. "They did this to you, didn't they!" She then growled. "Sephiroth…Sienna…SOLDIER…Mako Reactors…ShinRa…Everything!" She threw her head back and screamed. "I hate them all!"_

_Why were they seeing this? Cloud nor Claire nor Jeanne had arrived to the Reactor yet. Tifa glared at the large door before them and then ran in, glaring for revenge._

"Claire? Claire!" Tifa's voice made Claire shake her head. The pain was gone. She turned and glanced at the other woman as Cloud pushed to his knees. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," She answered. ~What just happened?~

"Damn you two," Barret scowled. "Get a hold of yourselves!"

Cloud looked at the woman. "Tifa…"

She raised an eyebrow. "What is it?" She asked.

He shook his head. "No…forget…Come on, let's hurry."

The bomb was attached in a few moments before the four of them started back down the path.

"That was easy as hell!" Claire put her hands on her hips with a look of boredom. "Where's the giant Scorpion we fought last time? Shouldn't it have a brother?"

"Shut up, brat!" Barret told her. "Be happy there's nothing here to fight!"

Grumbling, they four of them made up the path to get out, Claire scattering up the three large flights of stairs like a squirrel until they reached a table with three switches. They had to press them all at the same time so Claire watched for as long as she could as the three of them kept missing the time. In the end she shoved Barret out of the way and the three friends got it on the first try.

(Poor Barret. Don't worry; I treat him better in the future, lol)

They hurried forward to the final doorway and then they paused on another bridge that split into two paths. Barret turned to the left but men in red ran at him, forcing him back

"Shinra soldiers!" Barret cried, skidding to a halt before running back. "Shit! What the hell's going on?"

"It's a trap," Cloud crossed his arms.

"What did you expect?" Claire asked. Footsteps behind them brought their attention to the man in the red suit walking towards them. "The President." She growled.

"Why is the president here?" Tifa whispered.

The man stopped walking, a handed on his jutted hip. "Hmm…So you all must be that…what was it?"

"AVALANCHE!" Barret screamed. "And don't ya forget it! And you're President Shinra, huh?"

Cloud took a few steps forward. "Long time no see, President." He smirked.

"Long time no see?" He took a glance over Cloud and Claire and then smirked, deciding to play along with the twins. "Oh…you. You're the ones that quit SOLDIER and joined AVALANCHE. I knew you'd been exposed to Mako, for the look in your eyes…" In truth, this man had no idea who the hell these two people were. "Tell me, traitors…what were your names?"

"Cloud and Claire Strife." The woman growled. Glaring at the red suited man (Why does that make me think of Santa Clause?)

The President's eyes grew wide for a split second. He knew them now. The two infantrymen that Hojo had been working on with Jeanne Rush and Zack Fair…before they had escaped, anyway and Zack had died. So, if the two of them were here, did that mean that Jeanne was nearby as well? Oh, this meant things could get interesting! "Forgive me for asking," He then said. "But I can't be expected to remember each person's name. Unless the two of you become another set of Sephiroth and Sienna. Or maybe even Genesis or Angeal."

"Genesis?" Claire asked.

"Angeal?" Cloud looked as confused as his sister. They had never heard those names before.

But the President just chuckled. "Yes, all four of them were brilliant, but Sephiroth outshined them all. He was brilliant. Perhaps too brilliant."

"Sephiroth…." Cloud scowled.

Barret had enough of that and ran forward past Cloud, shoving his back. "Don't give a damn 'bout none of that! This place is going up with a big BANG soon! Serves y'all right!"

The President shook his head. "And such a waste of good fireworks just to get rid of vermin like you…"

"VERMIN?" That really pissed Barret off. "That's all you can say…VERMIN! Ya'll ShinRa're the VERMIN, killing the planet! And that makes you King VERMIN! So shu'up jackass!" (I'm sorry about that way Barret talks. It's just how he says that words. I can't change that(well, I could, but where would the fun in that be?) lol)

The President sighed. "You are beginning to bore me." (Why does that make me think of Sesshomaru? XD) "I am a very busy man, so if you'll excuse me…I have a dinner I must attend."

Barret took another step forward. "Dinner! Don't gimme that! I ain't even started wit' you yet!"

"But, I've made arrangement for a playmate for you all." The President snapped his fingers and a sound of stomping footsteps to their left made them turn. Claire grinned at the large machine running at them. "Meet 'Airbuster', a techno-soldier. Our weapon Development Department created him. I'm sure the data he'll collect from your dead bodies will be of great use to us in the future experiments."

"Techno-soldier?" Cloud asked as a helicopter arrived and the President boarded. How the hell did they get a Helicopter inside the Reactor and how the hell were they going to get it out?

"Now then, if you'll excuse me."

"Wait President!" Cloud yelled but the helicopter was gone.

"Yo, Cloud! We've gotta do something about him!" Barret yelled at the Blond man.

Claire continued to grin and drew the sword that Jeanne had given her three years ago. "I got this tin can!" She told them and the battle began.

Tifa couldn't really do too much to the machine, seeming as how she was just using her fists. She would make herself bleed and possibly break her hands until they found a pair of gloves that would work with her against metal. Some of Barret's bullets sunk into the machine if he hit it in the right place while the others bounced off of it, making them all have to dodge them. In the end, Cloud's Buster Sword and the blade that Claire held did the big damage, especially when Claire climbed up to the Machines head and dug the sword into what was supposed to be the neck of the machine.

Claire gave a victory peace sign, not noticing the static rebounded off of the machine after she sheathed her sword. Cloud jumped up and grabbed his sister off of the Machine's shoulder as the blue electricity began to appear faster and faster and they both landed on the other side of it. Before Claire could thank her brother, the machine blew up, ripping a large hole in the bridge. Cloud grabbed onto one of the hanging pieces of metal while Claire grabbed one of his feet.

"It's gonna blow! Let's go, Tifa!" Barret grabbed Tifa's arm.

"Barret! Can't you do something?" She asked him, starring worriedly at her friends. She tried to reach for Clair's hand but she was hanging down too low and with the weight of his sister, if Cloud let go of one hand, then he'd lose grip.

"Not a damn thing." Barret shook his head

"Cloud! Claire! Please don't die! There's so much that I still have to tell the two of you! Jeanne too!"

Claire sighed. "We're not gonna die," She then began to crawl up her brothers legs. She had reached his shoulders and grabbed onto the bridge herself when the bomb on the reactor went off, making the whole path be destroyed. "SON OF A BI-" Her voice disappeared as both she and Cloud fell.

"No!" Tifa screamed, reaching for them but Barret held her back She closed her eyes and opened them, praying they were still clutching to the side of the bridge, but no such luck.

The Strife Twins had fallen.

**Okay, so I was wrong, Jena was supposed to be in this chapter but then I would have had to add the 4****th**** Chapter into it and then it would have been like, over 6000 words so forgive me, lol. She WILL be in the next one though. Infact, the Chapter starts off with her, so stay tuned :)**

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	5. Chapter 4

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Chapter Four**

**Jena and Reno Return!**

"**The President called you up here an hour ago!"** The blonde woman in the yellow dress screamed.

"Shove it Scarlet," Came the answer from the other woman walking down the office hall. "I'm not in the mood to listen to you right now."

"WHAT!" The woman's voice made the other flinch due to her headache. "How dare you! You may be working directly under the Vice President, but you have no right to speak to me that way!" The other woman just continued walking, ignoring the Head of the Weapons Development. "JENA RUSH! I WILL NOT BE IGNORED!"

Jena Rush, a woman in her late 20's with pierced ears, long braided brown hair and eyes dressed in a black suit, turned and glared at the other woman with red eyes. "I said I'm not in the mood to listen to you squawk, Big Bird, so leave me alone."

Scarlet's mouth dropped open as the other woman finally disappeared.

Jena Rush hadn't been back to Midgar in three years since she agreed to go to Junon with Rufus Shinra, the Vice President of ShinRa Corporation. Still a Turk, she would carry out missions with Tseng still by meeting him up at where they would need to be but she hadn't seen Reno, Rude, nor Cissnei since. She had to admit, she missed the three of them a lot.

In fact, that's what this whole vacation was supposed to be about. She had taken a week off to come back to Midgar to see them. She had run into Cissnei last night and the two of them had stayed up drinking for hours as they caught up and talked about the good ole' times.

Jena was expecting to be able to sleep in this morning, but guess what? The President decided to call her in for an assignment. She still despised the President but a lot of people hated their boss. She would just have to deal with him so she had to grin and bear seeing him face to face again instead of getting his orders through his son.

Coming to a stop before the President's office, Jena fixed her tie, stood up straight, took the look of a hangover from her face and knocked on the door before entering at the response.

"You called, President?"

Three men resided in the office. Barely looking at the President, she smiled at the other two. One was a tall pale man with long black hair pulled into a low ponytail behind his head and a red dot on his forehead. The other was a tall, bald man with a little goatee. He was wearing sunglasses despite the fact they were inside, and was in possession of several piercings in each ear. Both men wore black suits and ties like Jena.

"Tseng, Rude. It's good to see you two again.

"Jena." Both men sounded surprised when they looked at her. "I thought you were on vacation," Tseng stated after he suppressed his surprise.

"I was supposed to be," She turned her eyes to the President.

"Yes, you were supposed to be but something has come up." The President sighed. "You are no longer going to be Tseng's partner."

"What?" The Two Turks shouted. Jena looked at Tseng to see a slight flush on his face as he cleared his throat with a hand over his mouth (like he does in Crisis Core. Don't know how to explain it XD its ADORALBE! OH, I just wanna SNUGGLE HIM! XDXD)

"You called me in here for that?" Jena's eyebrow twitched.

"Yes, but not just that. You're going to get new Turks. You're going to train them and teach them when you return to Junon." The President told her.

"And?" She asked. "What else did you call me for?"

"Rude has been given another mission so I need you to go with Reno on the one he's about to take part in."

Jena couldn't help but smile at that. "And What mission is that?"

"Rena and you are to bring back Aerith Gainsborough from the Slums. You and Tseng have watched over her before so I'm sure you know who I'm talking about."

"The Cetra(Ancient for those who don't know)?" Jena sounded surprised.

"Yes. Hojo is tired of waiting for her and wants to do tests."

"Then no," Jena crossed her arms. "If Hojo wants her, let Hojo fetch her. I want nothing to do with bringing another test subject to that immoral man. Why do you think I am no longer here in Midgar?"

"I'm not going to argue with you over this, Rush." The President picked up some files in front of his face. "Just do your job." (Damn, too bad Jena can't kill him. Maybe I'll let Sienna do it instead of Sephiroth. Watta you thing?)

Jena opened her mouth to respond but Tseng's hand on her shoulder made her keep her mouth shut as she turned and left the room. She squeezed the hand-railings to calm her down and then turned to the two men again. "So, either of you guys seen these new members yet?"

Tseng shook his head as Rude responded – "No, but there has been mentions of them. There are apparently two of them. Sisters." That instantly brought thoughts of Sienna and Jeanne to her head and she sighed. Tseng saw the look on her face and knew exactly where her thoughts were headed. So, deciding to stop them, Tseng turned to Rude-

"Where exactly is Reno waiting for you at, Rude?"

The sunglassed man looked at Jena again. "Down by the train. You have about 5 minutes to get there before it leaves."

She nodded. "All right, Rude, Tseng, we're going to have a drink later so be ready for it, understand?" She started to head down the stairs but turned back to Tseng. "See if you can find the sisters that I have to train. I'd like to go ahead and meet them if they're here."

Tseng nodded and she knew that he would do his best, so down the stairs she went. She could trust him. She knew she could trust Reno and Rude and Cissnei too, but she worked with Tseng for the last 8 years, so their trust was a little more than the others, even though she and Cissnei had lived together for a while.

Jena had made it just in time to slip onto the train. She had spotted the familiar redhead jumping on it himself moments before she did and gave a smile. She still had feelings for this man; despite not seeing or talking to him in three years. She hoped that things would still be the same between the two of them and fear what would happen if they weren't.

The Turk she was looking for sat at the front of the train with three Infantrymen with him as he stared out the window as the train set into motion.

Reno was the only man in the Turks, and the only one that Jena knew, that did not wear his suit correctly. His jacket was rumpled and untucked as was his white shirt and his tie was loose on his lanky physique. His unkempt red hair was longer now, kept in a small tie as it trailed down his back and his eyes were that same pale green she loved. He still had those two symmetrical red marks on his cheekbones and the goggled were still on top of his forehead.

"Damn, where the hell is Rude?" The Redhead asked aloud as he still stared out the window. "If I get in trouble for not grabbing that woman it's all his fault."

Jena, deciding to look cool in their reunion, crossed her arms and leaned against the train wall by the door, eyes closed. "Rude was pulled of the mission and I was reassigned to it." She knew that everyone turned to look at the woman in the suit and she couldn't help it; she opened her eyes and glanced at Reno. He was looking at her in surprise with a raised eyebrow before he frowned.

"Who the hell are you?"

~Oh oww, betcha that burnt~ A voice in the back of her head laughed (XD Poor Jena)

She sighed and stood up. It seemed that Reno didn't recognize her. She walked closer to them and sat on the seat across the way beside the lone Infantrymen. "Don't worry; Rude is just on another mission at the moment. They were going to let you go alone, but the President thought that since I was here he should call me off my vacation and send me with you." She stared at Reno's reflection in the window. She couldn't help but smirk. She missed seeing the look of confusion on him.

"That still doesn't tell me who you are."

"Hmm," Jena tapped her chin. "I think I'll let you guess. After all, we were partners once. And to think, all this time I've worried about how you would do without me and it seems that you've forgotten all about me."

She turned to see his reaction this time. "What are you talking about? The only two I've ever been partners with are Rude and Jen-" His eyes grew wide as realization dawn on him. "Jena!" He cried, jumping to his feet. She opened her mouth to say something but was tackled to the train seat as the redhead pinned her down. "Where the hell have you been? I haven't seen you in three years! Look at you! You've grown up! You're hair's longer! You got piercings!"

"I'll explain once you get off of me!" She might have gotten stronger, but this skinny man was still stronger than her. It wasn't fair! The Infantryman moved to the other two, leaving the redhead to sit across from the other Turk with a smiled. Straightening her suit, Jena said – "You've grown too, Reno, but the only thing different about you is your hair."

"Well of course," He continued to smile. "How have you been?"

Jena gave her own small smile and began to tell him everything.

"**Hello?"** A voice called out. "Are you all right?" Claire felt something pocking her side. She twitched her hand. "Oh, it moved! Hello, hello? Hello, hello!"

"God, I heard you the first time! Shut up!" Claire growled, clutching her head as she pushed herself to her knees.

"Forgive my sister," Cloud was just pushing himself up to a sitting position.

"Oh, it's no problem." A female voice replied. "Really."

Opening her eyes, Claire glanced around. They were in what seemed to be an abandoned Chapel with pews lined up with a large batch of flowers in the floor and two large holes in the ceiling. One was the outline of a person with the second was an outline of two people, criss-crossed. Her and Cloud, no doubt. But what about the single one?

"Are the two of you okay?" The female voice asked.

"Where are we?" Cloud asked, staring at the floor.

"This is a church in the Sector 5 Slums. "The two of you fell in through the ceiling just a little while ago. It really scared me."

"We came crashing down?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah, the Reactor bomb blew, remember?" Claire asked her brother.

"The roof and flower bed broke your fall. You're lucky. Very lucky."

Claire turned and glanced at the woman behind them and her mouth fell open. "Ah! It's flower-girl!" She pointed.

The young woman was wearing a shin-length pink dress with a red bolero jacket accompanied by brown boots and metal bracers on her wrists and jacket sleeves. Her brown hair was drawn black in a thick with a large pink ribbon tied around it. Her bangs framed her face and her emerald green eyes. The woman now seemed to recognize them as well.

"It's you two," She smiled. "I'm glad you're all right."

"The flower bed…is it yours?" Cloud asked, looking at it as he stood up. "Sorry about that."

Claire stood up herself as the woman replied – "That's all right. The flowers here are quiet resilient because this is a sacred place. They say you can't grow grass and flowers in Midgar but for some reason, the flowers have no trouble blooming here." The woman sighed. "I love it here." Cloud and Claire exchanged looks with each other before they both shrugged as the woman began to pick weeds out of the flowers. "Say," The woman stood up again. "Do you have any materia."

"Yes, some." Cloud answered. "you kind find it anywhere nowadays."

"Why?" Claire looked suspicious.

"But mine is special. It's good for absolutely nothing." She smiled.

"Good for nothing?" Cloud asked.

"Eh, you've probably haven't figured how to use it." Claire told her.

"No, I do, but it just doesn't do anything. I feel safe just having it. It was my mother's…" She looked sad before looking back at the twins. "Would you guys like to stay a little longer? It's been a while since people have come in here."

Claire felt something weird about this girl and she just wanted to get back to Jeanne but it looked like her brother had other plans.

"I guess that's all right." He scratched the back of his head.

"Oh yay! Call me Aerith! Aerith Gainsborough! Nice to meet you."

"The name's Cloud Strife and this is my sister Claire."

Claire opened her mouth to say something when two figures walking into the Church caught her attention. It was a man with red hair and a woman with brown. She grinned. "Oh, hello cutie," She couldn't see the woman too well but the man was close enough. "Aerith, who's the hot stuff? A friend of yours?"

Aerith turned and frowned. "Oh no. Not them again."

"Who are they?"

"Turks." She groaned, and then an idea seemed to pop into her head. "Hey, you guys have swords. Have you ever thought of being bodyguards for a little while?"

"Bodyguards?" Claire asked as Cloud scratched the back of his head again. "I guess that's something we've talked about before."

"Then, get me out of here. Take me home." The woman in pink told them.

"It'll cost you." Cloud told her.

"Okay, then let's see…how about if I go out with you once?" Aerith grinned.

"What?" Claire demanded, anger in her voice as her brother's face turned a light shade of red. "You move pretty fast, don't you?"

"Ok." Cloud told her.

"What!" Claire was louder this time. Cloud and Aerith stared at her. "What about you-know-who, Cloud?" It seemed that her brother forgot about Jeanne for those couple of minutes and she scowled. "Oh, you're on your own in this one pal." She turned and took steps closer to the two Turks that were walking towards them. "What's up?" Claire greeted them.

"Nothing much," The redhead gave a smirk as he put his hands in his pockets. "You?"

"Nothing too much here, either." Claire responded. "Just bored. Hey, the two of you wouldn't happen to know where the train is from here, do ya?"

"Sure do," The Redhead grinned. "Whatcha do, is you leave here and continue to the-"

"Reno!" The woman moved up beside him with a sigh. "Let's keep to the mission."

Claire took an instant double look at her. She looked a lot like Jeanne. But…Jeanne never mentioned having a sister before. Was it just her imagination? It had to be because she had seen a lot of people look alike before and not be related. It had to be her mind, right?

Reno grinned and then turned as Cloud ran up beside his sister. "I don't know who you two are, but…" Reno began.

"You don't know us?" Cloud asked.

"Of course not," Claire slapped her brothers head. "We're not popular, dumbass." She turned to the woman. "But I know who you are." _Her name is Jena._ A voice in her head told her. ~Jena? Where have I heard that before? "You're a Turk, right?" Claire asked. "Would Jena be your name, perhaps?"

The woman raised her eyebrow as the redhead looked at her with a smirk. "Well well Jena, aren't you special."

"Shut up, Reno." The woman growled, pinching the bridge of her nose. "And to think, I was supposed to be on vacation." She sighed as three Infantrymen walked in behind them.

"These two are a little weird, so be careful." Reno told the men.

"Shut up, ShinRa Spies!" Cloud shouted.

"Reno! Jena! Want them taken out?" One of them asked.

"Eh, don't care," Jena shrugged.

"I haven't decided yet." Reno answered.

"Don't fight here!" Aerith cried. "You'll ruin the flowers." Jena's eyes flared at the sight of the woman she remembered from years ago. This was the one that tried on ripping Zack from Jeanne. She'd have to remember to come back and burn this place down later.

Cloud ran after Aerith as she ran for the back exit but Claire stood her ground and drew her sword. Jena's eyes widened at the sight of it. She'd remember that thing anywhere. "That sword…where did you get that?" She demanded, taking a step forward.

"I'll tell you, if you beat me." Claire smirked.

Jena grinned. She might not have been her sister but she sure as hell acted like her. "Reno, you and the others go after the Ancient. I'll take care of blondie here."

"Hey, that's my brother's name, not mine!"

Jena smirked and pulled out a pair of Sais. They stared at each other for just a moment before Claire surged forward.

Claire was surprised. The Turk was stronger than she had been thinking. She was expecting the strength from a SOLDIER, but it seemed that the Turk knocked that one out of the park; along with her blade.

Dodging another stab from the Sai, Claire rolled over and yanked her sword out of the flower bed before turning and continuing to fight for a few more minutes. Somehow, Jena got past the sword and punched Claire in the face as she tilted her Sai to the side. Claire wiped the blood from her nose and gripped the sword again.

"Jeanne has taught you well, I see. No wonder she gave you her blade." Jena grinned. "But still not good enough."

Claire froze, lowering the sword. "H-how do you know Jeanne?"

"Claire! C'mon!" Cloud's voice from the ceiling of the Church.

The blonde woman looked at the other woman in shock still. She wanted to know everything. "Don't worry," Jena had turned and put her Sais away as she walked after Reno and the others. "I'm sure we'll meet again soon."

Claire took a final look at her before running out of the Church.

Jena turned and watched after the blonde woman with a smirk. She remembered the two of them from that mission to Modeoheim. The mission that Angeal died. They were two of the Infantrymen that had been with them. The ones that had gone to Nibelheim with Zack, Jeanne, Sephiroth, and Sienna. Claire had just confirmed that Jeanne was still alive but…was Zack still alive too? Or were the reports of him true? And if Jeanne still was alive, why hadn't she come looking for her? How come she didn't let her know?

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	6. Chapter 5

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Chapter Five**

**Aerith Invades**

"**So, what's next?"** Claire asked. After watching her brother and Aerith jump around on the tops of what used to be buildings, they now stood somewhere in the Sector 6 Slums.

"We should get back to the others but there's a risk that the Turks could follow us there," Cloud replied.

Claire opened her mouth to respond when Aerith decided to butt-in. "My house is over here. Hurry before THEY show back up."

Aerith didn't like the thought of it but she followed her brother. When they arrived at the small red house, she couldn't help but smile at the large garden of the yellow flowers around it. She might have been a fighter, but she was still a woman.

"I'm home, mom!" Aerith announced as they entered the house.

A woman in a green dress and a white apron with light brown hair walked out of the kitchen. "Oh Aerith, I- Who's this?" Elmyra asked as she saw Cloud and Claire.

"This is Cloud, my bodyguard, and his sister," Claire frowned at the woman in pink.

"Bodyguard?" The woman asked. "You mean that you were followed again?" Elmyra hugged her daughter. "Are you all right! You're not hurt, are you?"

"I'm all right; I had Cloud with me." Aerith smiled.

"Yeah, and I did nothing but stand there while ya'll escaped by the roof." Claire snorted.

"Thank you," Elmyra smiled. "Both of you."

"Eh, it was no prob!" Claire grinned and the woman went upstairs.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Aerith asked the twins.

"Is Sector 7 far from here?" Cloud asked. "I wanna get back to Tifa's bar."

"Is Tifa…a girl?" Aerith asked.

"Yeah."

"A girl…friend?"

"Girlfriend?" Cloud asked.

"Nah, Tifa's just a friend of ours from childhood." Claire laughed. "Jeanne's his girl!"

"Claire!" Her brother blushed.

At the name, Aerith's face changed; it dropped from a smile to a frown. _It wasn't that Jeanne was it?_ She wondered. Shaking her head, she smiled again. "Well, that's nice. Let's see, Sector 7? I'll show you the way."

"It's all right," Claire waved a hand. "We can find it ourselves."

"Besides," Cloud added. "You'd be putting yourself in danger."

She shrugged. "I'm used to it."

"Used to it?" Cloud sounded confused.

~I don't like this girl~ Claire thought as the other two continued to talk. ~She's butting in. Cloud normally doesn't act like this around people he just met. Hell, he's an ass to Barret and the others even after knowing them for a month! We need to get away from Mrs. Pink as fast as we can.~

"Mom!" Aerith called. "I'm taking Cloud and Claire to Sector 7! I'll be back later!"

"Why not go tomorrow?" Elmyra suggested after coming back downstairs. "It's getting late, after all."

"Yeah, you're right, Mom."

"No please, it's all right. Cloud and I can find our own way back , right Cloud?" Claire asked her brother.

"Yeah, we could."

"Then at least rest here for the night!" Aerith pleaded. "After that fall the 2 of you must be sore."

Claire didn't want to but in the end Aerith won and the woman in pink ran upstairs to get their room ready. (They were siblings after all)

"That glow in your eyes," Elmyra was watching the twins closely. "The two of you are from SOLDIER, aren't you?"

"We used to be," Claire answered.

"The woman frowned. "I see…I don't know how to say this, but…would you please leave here, tonight? Without telling Aerith?"

"What?" Cloud asked and Claire raised her eyebrows.

"It's nothing personal, just…the last thing Aerith needs is to get her feelings hurt again." Elmyra told them.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Claire put her hands on her hips. "Look Lady, I don't know what you're thinking or what your daughter wants, but Cloud already has a girl waiting on him in Sector 7!" She crossed her arms angrily. "And I just don't like the way your daughter is trying to crawl into our lives." She turned to the stairs. "C'mon Cloud. Let's get some sleep."

Cloud turned to the other woman and apologized to her before following his sister up the stairs. Claire shoved past Aerith into the room they were given. Her brother exchanged a few words with the woman in Pink before coming into the room himself. Claire had already dropped onto the bed and was facing the wall. A perfume wafted into her nose from the pillows and whatnot and she got a sudden feeling that Aerith was hoping that Cloud was the one to be on the bed. Her brother soon joined her in the bed, opposite ways and things were silent for a little while before they both seemed to drift into sleep.

It didn't seem long before Cloud shook his sister awake and the two of them were treading carefully down the stairs and out of Aerith's house. Claire had to admit that she was glad to be out of there. The feeling that she felt she had against the woman in pink seemed to be getting worse and she feared that she would do something to Aerith that she wouldn't like.

As they left the yard, Claire noticed the look of confusion on her brother's face as he ruffled through his thoughts.

"What's up, Cloud? Something bothering you?" She asked.

"No it's nothing. It's just…I keep hearing this voice in my head." Cloud told his sister. "I don't know who he is and he's normally not there, but the moment I start thinking about Jeanne or I'm near her,, he's there."

"He?" Claire raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, he. I swear I've heard his voice somewhere before, but I can't place it where."

"That's weird…I've got one sometimes too. Except, it's a woman." She told her brother.

"What?" cloud looked at her in surprise. "Really? What does she tell you?"

"Oh, it just makes comments here and there. Believe it or not, it kinda reminds me of Jeanne."

"Really?" Cloud repeated himself.

"Yep! Totally! She's even got that annoyed tone when I make comments about you!" Claire giggled.

They turned the corner and guess what? Miss Pink stood there, waiting on them.

"You're up bright and early," She said with a smile.

Cloud shook his head. "How could I ask you to go along when I knew that it would be dangerous?"

"Are you done?" She asked and Cloud scratched his head. "You have to go through the Slums in Sector 6 to get to Sector 7 I'll take you there. Come on!"

"Aww, we can get there ourselves!" Claire growled. "We don't need you! You're just in the way!" Claire bit her tongue at the look on Aerith's face now. She might have gone a bit too far on that and she was now feeling guilty. Cloud stayed silent, watching the two women as they stood there, looking at each other.

"I…I'm sorry," Aerith's voice shook, making Claire just feel worse. "I'll just go back home." She stepped past the twins and Claire sighed at the look her brother gave her.

"No, it's all right. My mouth just goes off without permission sometimes," Claire scratched her head with a glare at the ground. She didn't like making anyone, besides the ShinRa guys, feel bad. "You can at least take us to the Gate to Sector 7, I guess."

Aerith turned back around with a smile and began to lead the way. Cloud and Aerith talked, but Claire kept out of it, ignoring them both as she followed the woman in pink. She didn't want her mouth to go off again, but the closer she saw Aerith to her brother the worse it was becoming. They soon arrived and what appeared to be a park with a large, metal door on the other side of it.

"The Gate to Sector 7 is in there." Aerith told them.

"Thanks." Claire told her, taking a step forward.

"I guess this is goodbye. You gonna be all right going home? Why don't you come with us?"

"What?" Claire yelled.

"I could do that. But won't I be in your way?" Aerith asked.

"What do you mean in the way?" Cloud asked.

"Nothing!" She giggled.

"Whoa! What the hell!" Both of them turned to Claire. "Cloud, we're not taking her with us! We all ready have enough problems as it is!" She might have felt Aerith fell bad before but she wasn't going to apologize for this because it was true. "We don't need anyone else! The three of us have been together for the last three years! Adding someone else would just ruin it!"

"Claire," Cloud sighed. He feared that what his sister was saying was true, but could he really just leave the woman here alone?

"I'm not doing it Cloud! We don't need anyone besides Jeanne! Especially not someone like her!"

(My apologies, guys, but I can't stand Aerith. I can't wait for the moment she dies :Evil smile: ;) )

Claire wasn't the only angry voice. The one that she had told her brother about just a while ago had shouted it in her head. Infact, that's the only reason she had even said it aloud. What was going on up there?

Claire grabbed her brother by the arm and began to drag him to the Gate when it opened. A Chocobo pulled a carriage out of it, leading it past them. The twins had to take a double look at the woman in blue.

It was Tifa!

"Tifa!" They both cried.

"What's going on?" Claire demanded, looking after the carriage.

"Let's go find out!" Aerith ran after it.

"No! We'll do it ourselves. You go home!" Cloud cried.

Claire growled at her brother as they took off after the girl. "You're explaining all of this to Jeanne when we get back to the 7th Heaven."

Cloud nodded to his sister as they hurried to catch up. The Wall Market was full of small food places, an Inn, stores, a Gym and other places that Claire would have to come back to look at later if she had the chance to.

Aerith turned to the twins. "This place is scary in a lot of ways. Especially for a girl. So we've got to fine Tifa fast." Aerith told them.

"Please," Claire moved passed the woman in pink with an annoyed look as she took a right towards a large group of men outside of a large building. "Tifa can take care of herself if one of the men even thought about touching her."

The other two followed the woman and all three gazed up at the sign next to the building they were now standing before. It was a picture of a lady in a bumblebee suit winking at them. Claire caught on quicker than the other two.

"OH MY GOD! It's a whore house!" She sounded horrified. "They brought Tifa here!"

"Hey, you're pretty fast," The grey-haired man beside them heard her and smiled. "Tifa's our newest girl. But, unfortunately, she's having an interview right now. Here at Honey Bee Inn, it's customary for all the new girls to be taken to Don Corneo's Mansion."

"Who the hell's Corneo?" Claire crossed her arms.

"Don Corneo's a famous dilettante. Now he wants to settle down and is in the market for a bride."

"Oh no," Cloud sighed. "Tifa is not going to be happy."

"Happy!" Claire demanded. "I wanna know how she got into this mess in the first place, dammit! Jeanne better not be here, either!"

"Are you crazy?" Cloud defended the other woman. "Jeanne wouldn't have gotten caught! She would have beaten those men into a pulp if any of them took a glance in her direction! There's no one stronger that her!"

"You only say that because you have a crush on her." Claire smirked as her brother turned red.

"I do not!"

"Oh? Then why buy her that flower?"

As the twins continued to argue, Aerith turned and talked to the elder man before grabbing Cloud and dragging her behind him. That shut the arguing up right away and the three of them soon found themselves listening to the man standing outside the big mansion at the very edge of Wall Market.

"This is Do Corneo's mansion. He's a big shot here in the Wall Market. Listen, the Don's not interested in men, so just get the hell out of here. But you 2," The looked at the girls. "You can stay."

"Shut up, Bozo!" Claire growled. "Is that all men look for these days? Looks? Does nothing else matter?" Cloud grabbed his sister and pulled her back a few feet before the three of them got into a circle to decide what to do.

"Well, Claire and I could go inside and rescue Tifa and see what's going on." Aerith offered up.

"No! I'm not letting either of you go in there!" Cloud told the girls.

"Why?" Aerith asked.

"You DO know…what kind of…place this is, don't you?" Cloud asked

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Aerith asked. "You want to go with us?"

"Though I don't want to go in, you stay out here with Aerith, Cloud. I'll get Tifa and take care of this Don guy." Claire told her brother.

"No! I'm not letting you go in alone," Claire sighed. "Damn. What should we do?"

Claire began to think and then a smirk erupted onto her face. Cloud didn't like the cruel laughter she ejected, either.

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	7. Chapter 6

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**This Chapter is for Mizutoki. She was there for Crisis Core and has returned for this and I ope that she returns for Advent Children and Dirge of Cerberus when Final Fantasy 7 Is complete. Again, thank you, Mizu! :)  
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**Chapter Six**

**Claudia**

"**Cloud, you can come out now!"** Aerith giggled.

"Oh no, his name is Claudia, now."

Cloud, I mean 'Claudia', stepped out of the changing room in a blonde wig and a silk, purple dress. Claire had run around with the idea of making her brother a 'sexy woman'. They had convinced the old man to make the dress; a diamond tiara from the seller, the sexy cologne from the woman in the restaurant bathroom, the lingerie from the Honey Bee Inn, and then the blonde wig from the weird man in the gym.

A flash went off and 'Claudia' flushed. "What did you take a picture for!" 'She' asked.

"Future references," Claire giggled. "Jeanne and Tifa are both going to love this."

"No! You can't show them that!" 'Claudia' looked horrified. "They'd never let me forget it!"

"I know! That's the whole point!" Claire laughed as she slid the camera down the front of her shirt. 'Claudia' put a halt to trying to grab it from her.

"If you EVER show that to anyone else, I will kill you!" 'Claudia' pointed a finger at 'her' sister.

"Hmm, not bad," The store owner grinned. "This may be a new business for me.

_Zack would have loved to see him in that, too. _The voice that she had told Cloud about earlier rang through her head. Claire did a double take. ~Who's Zack?~ She asked herself.

"The two of us need a dress as well!" Aerith's words brought Claire from her thoughts.

Her smile faltered. "What?" She demanded.

"I agree," 'Claudia' gave 'her' sister a smirk. "If we're going to get in ALL of us need to be dressed up."

"But, you know that I'm not a big dress fan, Cloud! It's just…not my style." Claire told her brother.

"Here," Aerith had been searching through the rack of clothes and gave a dress to Claire. "I think that this will fit you!"

"Go on now, Claire," Cloud shoved his sister into the changing room.

Claire gave him a scowl and then pulled the curtain shut. He only had to wait a few seconds before the two women walked out in their dresses. Aerith's dress was just a plain red. Claire's was black with a silver vision(think the lifestream) from the bottom edge and up her thighs and across her waist.

"Wow," Cloud sounded surprised. "Both of you, just wow." Cloud smiled at his sister. "If you dressed more like that then you'd have a boyfriend."

Claire blushed. "Shut up, Cloud! A boyfriend will come to me when the time is right. I don't need one as of now!" She turned and began to leave the building. "Come on; let's hurry up and save Tifa and get out of here."

Cloud snickered as he and Aerith followed his sister to the end of the Wall Market when Don's place was at. The moment the man outside of the doors saw her, the moment Cloud regretted doing all of this.

"Damn!" The man whistled. "The three of you are smoking! Come in, come in!" He turned, announced that three ladies were coming through and then led the way in.

The room was lined in gold and red with a man sitting behind a desk across from the stairs.

"Hey, ladies," he smiled. "I'll go and let the Don know you're here. Wait here. Don't go wondering around…" He slipped into a back room.

"Pah!" Claire scoffed as she turned to the stairs. "Like I'm going to listen to him. Let's grab Tifa and get the hell out of here."

Cloud and Aerith agreed and began checking the several doors in the building but they were all locked except for one. It was more of a path with a pair of dark stairs leading down into what Claire decided to say was a basement.

Heading down the stairs they came upon a room with a table in the middle of it and Tifa was standing behind it.

"Tifa!" Claire cried happily.

The black-haired woman turned. "Claire? What are you doing here?" She sounded surprised and relieved as the blonde woman gave her a hug.

"We came here to search for you!"

"What happened after you and Cloud fell?" Tifa demanded.

"Eh, nothing too bad. I'm surprised we didn't die," She laughed. "I'm just glad that's you're safe."

"The same to you," She then glanced at the other woman with the twins. "Hey," Tifa turned to Aerith. "You were in the park with the twins."

"Yep, this is the girl that Cloud bought the flower for Jeanne from." Claire shaved a thumb at the other woman.

Tifa hid her look of nervousness and relief. ~Thank God that I talked Jeanne out of coming with me.~ She thought. ~Something bad may have happened.~

"The name's Aerith."

"Tifa." She glanced at the 3rd 'woman' in the group. "Who's that and where's Cloud?"

Claire snickered. "Meet 'Claudia'. 'She' agreed to come and help find you."

Tifa looked confused for a second as Claire began to laugh even more. That was when she noticed how much the woman in purple and the woman in black looked alike. Same eyes…same hair…same features…

"Oh my God; Cloud? Why are you dressed like that?" Tifa demanded.

"Ask her!" He glared at his laughing sister. "She decided that it would be a good idea to dress as a woman to get in here and rescue you."

Tifa glanced at Claire and then the two of them burst out into laughter. Cloud flushed, pulling a face. He knew that Tifa and Claire would tease him about this, they always would, he just prayed that Jeanne never did; that she would never find out about it.

"What happened after the fall?" Tifa asked, catching her breath from laughing. "Are you hurt?"

"We fell in through a church and Aerith here helped us out," Cloud told her. "We're just fine."

"Oh, she did…" She gave the woman a glance.

"Now you explain. Tifa," Claire crossed her arms. "What happened after we fell? Why are you here?"

"Yeah, uhh," She glanced at Aerith how gave a smile and turned away, plugging her ears and singing a song. "I'm glad the two of you are ok." Tifa told them. "Jeanne went on a rampage after learning that the two of you had fallen. She and Barret got into this really big fight and well, let's just say that Barret now has a limp."

"That's Jeanne, all right!" Claire smiled.

"After the little scuffle," Tifa continued. "There was this weird man. Barret caught him and squeezed some information out of him."

"And that's when Don's name popped up." Cloud commented.

"Right. Don Corneo. Barret told me to leave the lech alone…but something's been bothering me. It seemed to bother Jeanne too, so she wanted to come with me."

"Jeanne's here?" Cloud sounded enraged.

"No. I talk her out of it in the end. She wanted to look for the two of you but Barret had her do other things…so now, here I am and now in a bind." Tifa sighed. "Corneo is looking for a bride. Every day he gets a couple of girls, chooses one of them, and then…and well…anyway," She shook her head. "I have to be the girl…or I'm out for tonight."

Aerith then sighed and turned. "Sorry, but I overheard…If you know the girls there's no problems with us to joint, right?"

"I guess so," Tifa sighed. "But…"

"We have 3 here, right?"

"No, Aerith! I can't have you involved!" Cloud shook his head.

"Oh? So it's all right for Tifa to be in dangerous?" Aerith asked.

"Tifa can take care of herself just like I can," Claire crossed her arms. "And that's 10 times better than you can. You're just in the way now."

"Claire," Cloud sighed at his sister. "Aerith's been helping us to save Tifa. You can at least be kind to her."

Claire opened her mouth to respond when she was cut off.

"Hey! It's time, ladies." A man called down to them. "The Don is waiting. Hurry up!"

Claire shot Aerith a look before heading up the stairs, the others following her.

"Do I really look like a girl that munch?" Cloud asked his sister.

"Ehh, not to me, but to people you haven't met before, perhaps. It just shows you how foolish and stupid people can be." Claire answered with a shrug as they followed the man into another large room.

Lined up in a row before the large, bald blonde man, Claire struggled not to make a comment while he looked at them. It was harder then she thought.

"Now, let's see…which girl should I choose? Hmm," He paced before them all, coming into individual steps. Tifa and Aerith started at the man and Cloud would always avert his gaze. When he was looked at and he wanted to look at the large man as he looked Claire over. Claire would openly glare at him thought and he smoked. "Woo-hoo, I've made up my mind!" He announced. "My choice for tonight is this one!" He pointed at Claire.

"What!" She growled. "Wait a sec! I ain't going anywhere with you, Old man!"

"Woo-hoo!" Don grinned. "I love them fiery!" He turned to his men. "You can have the others." He turned back to Claire. "Well then, shall we go my pretty?"

"Nah, I don't think-" She caught the look Cloud was shooting her and then sighed. Taking a step forward, she fought the urge to say something as she followed the man into another room. Cloud and Tifa would be joining her again soon, anyway.

Claire found herself in a bedroom this time, red and gold like the rest of the house.

"Ahh, we're finally alone…" Don was laying on his blanket as Claire growled at him. "All right, Pussycat…Come to daddy!" Claire didn't move, just glaring at the man. He grinned. "You're so cute. I never get tired of looking for you!"

"Yeah well, I'd rather not look at you!" Claire folded her arms. "In fact, I'm here for some information, so just sit there and answer my questions."

"What!" Don gave a laugh. "Poor girl. You're trying to act mean, but in truth you're nervous, aren't you? Aww, you're acting is quiet adorable. Don't be afraid, Pussycat, I can fix everything."

"Fix everything?" Claire struggled to keep under control instead of attacking Don.

"Oh yes. You're such a foolish young child. I'll teach you how to do everything, my dear. Come here and let me show you how to treat a man."

…

…

…

"Claire!" Cloud burst into the room, Aerith and Tifa behind him. They both were worried about what had happened but at the sight of what they found made them know that they shouldn't have worried.

Don held bruises and a black eye as he continued to lat on his bed, looking at the three of them, scared, and Claire was standing by the bed, staring down at him as she put her hands on her hips.

"What's up?" Claire asked the three of them as she glanced away from Don. "The three of you are completely slow."

"We are not," Cloud told his sister. She smirked and gave him a peace sign.

"You're the ones from before! What's going on?"

"All right, here's how its going to go," Claire leaned closer to him. "We're gonna ask questions, all right? If you don't answer, I'm going to pay you back had enough to where you no longer have the urge of sex, understand?" Don looked at her like she was crazy. Claire nodded at Tifa.

"What did your assistants find out?" Tifa asked.

He gave Claire a horrified look with tears starting to fill his eyes. "I…I made 'em fid out where the man with the gun-arm was. But that's what I was ordered to do."

"Gun-arm?" Cloud asked. "You mean, Barret?"

"I think that's his name."

"Who asked you to do that?" Claire demanded.

"No! If I told you, they'll kill me!"

"If you don't kill me, I'll torture you until you do, so give me the answer!" Claire growled.

"AHHHHHH! It was Heidegger of ShinRa!"

"Oh God, not that fat, old man!" Claire sighed.

"Who's Heidegger?" Aerith asked.

"Heidegger, the head of Public Safety Maintenance." Don hiccupped.

"Did you say ShinRa?" Tifa demanded. "What are they up to? Talk!"

Don gave Claire a look before he sighed. "ShinRa is trying to crush a small rebel group called AVALANCHE, and want to infiltrate their hideout. They're going to crush them…literally. By breaking the support holding up the plate above them."

"Break the support?" Tifa cried.

"You know what's going to happen? The plate'll go PING and everything's gonna go BAMMM! I hear their hideout's in the Sector 7 Slums. I'm just glad it's not here in Sector 7."

"They're going to wipe out the Sector 7 Slums?" Tifa asked.

"Shit," Claire jumped to her feet and turned to her brother. "We have to get back. We gotta grab Jeanne and get out of Sector 7!"

Cloud nodded. "Yeah. We gotta get her out of there."

The twins ran to move out the door, Aerith and Tifa following them, when Don called after them.

"Just a second," He called.

"Shut up!" Cloud replied. "Be glad that we're letting you go."

"No wait, it'll only take a second." He took a breath. "How do you think scum like me feels when they babble on about the truth?"

"Ha," Claire smirked. "You're sure that you'll win, but you just don't."

"Right!" Don Corneo laughed.

Click.

Claire only had a few seconds to look at the floor as a hole appeared behind them. "Oh," She sighed before they all fell.

"**Ah, eww! Why the sewer? **Now I need a new pair of shoes!"

"Get off of my back, Claire," Cloud told his sister.

Claire, hanging onto her brother's back, reached towards the side of the sewer where a concrete path was and let go of her brother only after she had balance on the concrete.

"It's too late…Marlene…Barret…Jeanne…the people of the Slums." Tifa frowned.

"Don't give up, never give up hope. It's not easy to destroy the pillar, right?" Aerith asked.

Tifa nodded. "Yeah…you're right. We still have time."

"C'mon, Claire." Cloud turned from his sister and began to lead the way down the sewer. "Let's go save Jeanne and the rest of them."

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	8. Chapter 7

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Warning, Ignore the bold lyrics I set in the story. I tried to separate the sections but it didn't seem to work so I'm just going to use Lyrics that pop in my head, lol**

You are warned, this Chapter is REALLY REALLY REALLY LONG!

**Chapter Seven**

**Meeting her, #3**

"Stay here with Marlene!" Barret's voice was hard as he turned to follow Jessie and the others out of the Bar. Screams could be heard outside.

"I can help!" Jeanne told him, hands on her hips. "Why? Why are you afraid to work with me?"

Barret glared at her. "I don't trust you," He told her. "Your sister is a Turk. I doubt that you'd fight her and switch sides if we ran into her, so I keep you here. The same now! Stay here with Marlene!" He barked at her before turning and leaving the Bar.

Jeanne glared at the door but sighed and sat back down at the bar before taking a drink out of her glass. If Barret was afraid of her like an idiot, then there was nothing that she was going to do. She would sit here like he told her and if he died in battle then it was his own fault.

She was beginning to regret bringing the twins to AVALANCHE. She had figured that she would reconnect them to Tifa would send the twins back to the way they had been before. Claire had but Cloud had changed a lot. He was no longer that sweet man that he had been when they first met. To be honest, Jeanne liked him better like that, but perhaps that that was because he reminded of her Zack.

At the thought of him, her eyes fell to the ring that she still wore. She had yet to remove it; refusing to even after Zack was gone. She never would. A whole part of her had been ripped away, and she would get revenge. She was going to destroy ShinRa if it was the last thing that she ever did. If Jena got in her way…Jeanne had prayed that Jena would have left the Turks after everything had happened, she prayed that her sister would have come found her after Cissnei told her that Jeanne was still alive, but she hadn't.

Jeanne knew that she and her sister would run into each other again sometime soon; she hoped that it would be happily, but something told her that it wouldn't be.

Screams erupted louder as did gunfire. At the sound of it, the young girl that was drawing began to cry. Jeanne sighed and took another drink before turning as Marlene ran to her. She picked the child up and began to whisper to her, telling her that everything was going to be okay.

Surprisingly, the child fell asleep in her arms, leaving Jeanne to just hold her while she endured the screams outside. She wanted to go out there and keep the people from being killed. She wanted to know what was going on outside. Had AVALANCHE been found? Had she been found? Did Hojo want to find her again and continue on with the tests that he had performed on her? She hoped that she ran into that man again soon. She would gladly rip that man apart.

"I knew it," The voice made Jeanne freeze. "I knew that it was you they had been talking about."

Turning, Jeanne's eyes narrowed as they landed on the woman in pink that was now standing in the doorway of 7th Heaven.

"Aerith," The woman gave a growl. "What the hell are you doing here?" She stood from her stool, still holding Marlene to her.

The woman in pink didn't seem to be happy at the sight of the other woman either. "Cloud sent me to grab Marlene and take her somewhere safe. The Infantrymen are here. They're trying to destroy the support beams to kill Sector 7 due to AVALANCHE." Aerith glared at the woman. "All these people are going to die because of you."

Jeanne scoffed. "I've done nothing." The thought of this woman enraged Jeanne's mind since they had returned to Midgar, but seeing her up close again…it made her worse. She now wanted to take her sword and-

"Cloud and his sister requested me to tell you to come and help them. They're at the pillar, trying to stop them. Give me the girl. I'll take her to my house and keep her safe. Hurry and help the others."

Jeanne watched as Aerith came forward to take the sleeping child. She almost refused to hand her to her, but she gave in. Now was not the time to be act childish. She would continue with Aerith later.

Aerith took the child and Jeanne watched as she ran out of the Bar, heading towards the other Slums. Jeanne fought with herself for a second, and the jealous side won. Pulling her phone out, Jeanne dialed a number that she hadn't used in 7 years. She didn't even know if the man still used the same number, but it was worth a try.

The Phone rang twice.

"Tseng." The voice she hadn't heard in years traveled through her ears. She couldn't help but smile.

"It's been a while, Turk." Jeanne grinned.

"Who is this?" The man asked.

"Someone you haven't seen in a while. My name is not important. The last time we met, you were watching a young woman named Aerith Gainsborough. Are you still after her?"

There was silence for a moment. "And if the Turks are?"

She smirked. "You should take the moment, while the Infantrymen are trying to destroy the 7th Sector Slums, and capture her. She is now returning to her house; I'm sure you know where it is." She was silent for a moment. "But just so you know, if you hurt anyone or take anyone besides Aerith there, I'll make you regret it." She hung up the phone and shoved it into her pocket. That should entertain her for a while. As long as Marlene was safe then Jeanne didn't care.

Grasping the sword that she had in the corner, Jeanne lifted the red blade and pressed her forehead against the blade. Genesis' blade was warm, ready to take part in a fight. Jeanne sheathed it on her hip and stepped out of the Bar, heading towards the screams and gunshots.

_**Just Drive**_

_**Take me away to night**_

_**Just Drive**_

The group had finally made it to Sector 7. They paused for a breath as they looked up at the Pillar. Claire took notice of the several people standing around the gate of the Pillar as the sounds of gunshots and yelling reached them.

"We made it!" Tifa cried. "The pillar's standing!"

Cloud seemed to be hearing the fighting himself. "Wait! Tifa…above us!"

"Is it…gunfire?" Aerith asked.

"Yeah, it is." Claire clenched her fists. She saw it happening all along the stairs that led up to the platform. And then, as they watched, a body fell from the top of them and landed behind the watching group. The three AVALANCHE members recognized him.

"Wedge!" Cloud knelt beside the young man as everything that had been watching. "Are you right?"

"…Cloud…" His voice was weak and he was bleeding from gunshots and from hitting the ground. There was nothing that any of them could do. After anyone fell from a height like that…The only ones that could survive that were people infused with Mako, and Wedge wasn't part of that group. "You…remembered…my…name." He sighed. "Barret's up top…help…him…" He began to cough. "Sorry…I…wasn't any…help my…" Wedge's eyes rolled and the man stopped breathing.

Claire bit her lip angrily and turned to glare up at the Pillar. Cloud stood and followed her gaze. "We're going up," He announced to Tifa and Aerith. "Aerith, you look after Wedge." The woman in pink nodded.

"Aerith, do me a favor," Tifa decided to take a step forward. "I have a bar called '7th Heaven' in this neighborhood. There's a little girl named Marlene there…"

"Don't worry," Aerith nodded. "I'll put her somewhere safe."

Claire began to think quickly as Tifa warned the other watchers with them. Was Jeanne up there with Barret? No, if she was, the battle would be over. That woman was quick and her sword could take care of the gunman in moments. She was still under orders from Barret to be in the bar, wasn't she?

"Aerith," The three of them looked at the blonde woman. "We have a woman named Jeanne there in the bar. She's probably with the Kid right now, taking care of her. When you grab Marlene, tell her to come help us. If you hurry and she gets sent to us quickly, this will be over before something bad happens.""

"Yeah," Cloud nodded. "Jeanne will be able to fix this."

Tifa saw the look on Aerith's face before she had nodded. This was the woman that Jeanne had mentioned to Tifa a few nights ago. Was letting the two of them met alone a good idea?

Yeah, Jeanne could control herself, couldn't she?

Cloud led the way up the stairs where the Infantrymen were attacking Barret. They came across both Biggs and Jessie as they were dying on the stairs. Infantrymen attacked them as well, but the three of them weren't playing around like they had been in the last mission together. This was serious and they didn't have the time to mess around.

They soon reached the top and Claire jumped forward, cutting off the head of one of the Infantrymen that Barret was now dealing with. The man lowered his arm and looked at the three of them in relief. "Cloud! Tifa! Claire! You came!" He then turned. "Be careful! They're attacking from the helicopter."

Cloud turned too late as Reno, the man from the Church, dropped from the elevator and ran to the switch. He laughed at the four that stood there watching him. "You're too late. Once I push this button…" He pressed it. "That's all, folks! Mission accomplished." Rena laughed.

"We have to disarm it! Cloud! Barret! Please!" Tifa cried.

Claire growled at Reno. "I can't have you do that. No one get's in the way of Reno and the Turks." He told them.

Reno was a pain and it made it worse as Claire realized that he was just playing with them. With a growl, she gave the man a Cross-Slash attack that Jeanne had taught her, resulting in a cut on the man's chest.

Reno pulled a surprised took at them before he smirked. "Time to go," He said, before running over and pumping over the railing. Claire wanted to see if Reno survived, but she turned to watch Tifa as she touched the computer instead. Tifa didn't know what to do so Cloud moved over to try. Her brother sighed, shaking his head.

"It's not a normal time bomb." He commented and then the sound of a helicopter broke the silence. They all turned to see another Turk, a man with black hair, standing there on the helicopter with Aerith kneeling beside him.

_Tseng _The voice in Claire's head told her. ~Tseng? Is it his name?~

"That's right," The man commented on what Cloud had said. "You'll have a hard time disarming that one. It'll blow you second some stupid jerk touches it."

"Please, stop it!" Tifa cried.

Tseng laughed. "Only a ShinRa Executive can set up or disarm the Emergency Plate Release System." He announced.

"Shut yer hole!" Barret growled as he began to fire at the helicopter.

"I wouldn't try that…You just might make me injure our special guest." Tseng pointed at Aerith.

"Aerith!" Tifa sounded surprised.

"Oh, you know each other?" Tseng asked. "How nice you could see each other one last time. You should thank me."

"What are you going to do with her?" Cloud demanded.

Tseng glanced at the woman in pink for a moment. "I haven't decided." He answered. "Our orders were to find and catch the last remaining Ancient. It took us a while, but now that an old companion had given us a call, I can finally report this to the President."

"Tifa," Aerith decided to speak. "Don't worry! She's all right!" Tseng gave the woman a slap as Tifa cried her name. "Hurry and get out!"

"Ha, ha, ha. Well, it should be starting right about now. Think you can escape in time?" The helicopter went off as the bomb began to explode on the pillar.

"Dammit, I'm late."The voice made them turn and they saw Jeanne standing at the Computer.

"Jeanne!" Claire ran to her. "Can you stop it?"

The woman shook her head. "I might have been able to if I had been here sooner, but now that it's started, no." She gave Barret a glare before turned to the twins. "We have to get out of here. Now." She glanced around and saw one of the wires. "One of you can come with me. A Mako-infected person can survive the fall and the other three can take the wire." She told them.

Barret hurried over and grasped it. "The fastest runner go with Jeanne," Cloud and Claire exchanged a look and the sister ran over the woman. "Will you be able to find us after we leave?"

Cloud looked at his sister. "Sector Six. That playground, all right?"

Claire nodded. "Not a problem." She jumped onto Jeanne's back. "Let's go."

Jeanne nodded, sure that Claire had a good grip on her, before she jumped over the side of the platform. Claire's arms tightened around the other woman's neck and she tried not to scream as they neared the ground. Then, as they fell, Jeanne clapped her heads together and began to use magic. A twister appeared beneath them as the pillar began to explode and it sent them shoot forward instead of towards the ground. They quickly made it out of Sector 7 and past the train.

Jeanne tried to ignore the sight of the people running and screaming around them and also the thought of how closer the slab of Midgar was getting closer to them.

With the twister still shooting them forward, Jeanne reached the barrier of the Slums and sighed in relief as the metal door opened and the two of them entered Sector 6. Jeanne recognized this park. She, Zack, and Aerith were here once, a little while before they were sent to Nibelheim.

Dropping the twister, Jeanne turned just in time to see Cloud, Barret, and Tifa as they swung into the park, the explosion following them. Jeanne put herself in front of Claire, crossing her arms in front of her face as the barrier she could summon blocked everything.

Cloud and the others were spread out across the park. Claire immediately went to her brother but Jeanne stood where she was as the four others walked towards what was once the opening path to Sector 7. It was full of what was once the Slate of Midgar above it. There was no way that they were going to be able to reach the ones left there…even if they were alive.

Barret began to scream for his daughter and the three that had worked with him. "Biggs! Wedge! Jessie! What the hell is it all for! ARGGHHH!" He screamed.

"Hey, Barret!" Cloud and Tifa both called the man's name as he continued to scream.

Cloud moved forward. "Hey! There's nothing you can do!"

"Knock it off!" Claire told him.

"Please stop." Tifa begged. He ignored them and began to fire his gun in the air again.

"God…damn," Barret sighed, finally dropping his gun-arm. He walked away from the destroyed Sector and dropped to his bottom in front of the slide. "Marlene…"

"Your daughter is safe, Barret." Jeanne told the man that was sitting in front of her. Everyone glanced at her, Barret with a 'Huh?'. "Aerith came by and took her to her house. She must have been captured right after dropping her off there." She told them all.

"Yeah," Claire decided to agree. "She must have left Marlene with her mother."

"Aerith did say that she was all right before they took off. She had to be talking about Marlene," Tifa nodded.

"R-Really?" Barret stood to his feet.

Jeanne nodded. "She took her and that's why I came to join you." Jeanne didn't like thinking about it, but she had to admit that if Aerith didn't come by for Marlene, then the both of them would have died in the bar when the bomb had gone off. Not that Jeanne would openly admit that. "The other three though…Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie…" She didn't need to continue.

"Think I don't know that?" Barret growled at her. "But…we, all of us fought together. I don't wanna think of them as dead!"

"…And the other people in Sector 7." Tifa decided to say sadly.

"This is all screwed up!" Barret growled. "They destroyed an entire Sector just to get to us! They killed so many people…" Cloud and his sister shared a look as Jeanne closed her eyes.

"Are you saying it's our fault?" Tifa demanded. "Because AVALANCHE was here? Innocent people lost their lives because of us?"

Barret shook his head after a silent moment. "No, Tifa! That' ain't it! Hell no! It ain't us! It's the damn ShinRa! It's never been nobody but the ShinRa!" Cloud turned away. "They're evil and destroyin' our planet just to...build their power and line their own damn pockets with gold! If we don't get rid of them, they're gonna kill this planet! Our fight ain't never gonna be over until we get rid of them!"

Tifa sighed. "…I don't know."

"What don't' you know!" Barret demanded. "You don't believe me?"

"It's not that," Tifa told him. "I'm not sure about…me. My feelings."

"Feelings?" Jeanne glanced at the other woman. "About what? About what they did? Is that making you want to hide now and live with what they did for the rest of your life? Do you not want revenge against ShinRa anymore?" Jeanne turned from them. "If you can't live with it, you might as well stop now because the further you continue with this, the more ShinRa will kill to get closer to stop you. This is just the beginning of it all if you plan on continuing." She began to walk away.

Tifa frowned, lowering her head as Barret turned to the twins. "An' what about you two?" Claire turned to watch her brother as he followed after Jeanne. She followed him. "Yo!" He cried after the three of them.

"Claire," Jeanne glanced over her shoulder at the blonde woman as the twins followed her. "Can you lead us to Aerith's house? I want to see if Marlene's safe." ~And if she isn't…Tseng will regret it.~

"No problem," Claire nodded. She moved forward the lead the way, but Barret calling their names made her stop and they all turned.

"Take me to Marlene!" Barret ordered them.

"We're on our way there now." Claire told him.

Are you going to help Aerith?" Tifa asked Cloud.

"Yeah…" Cloud answered. "

"What?" Jeanne turned and looked at the young man. Everyone looked surprised at her. "You're going to go after the Turks?"

"Yes," Cloud nodded. "Aerith was the one that helped us after we fell into the Church. We can't just leave her there. She was captured because she was helping us."

~She was captured because I called Tseng~ Jeanne thought. ~Why can't this woman stay out of my life?~

Jeanne scoffed. "Do what you want." She continued to walk, Claire going with her as Cloud and Barret and Tifa continued to talk.

"I need to find something out about the Ancients."

Jeanne froze at the word Cloud said and Claire turned back to her brother. Closing her eyes, Jeanne fought to ignore the memory that popped up in her head but the man's voice broke through.

"_In my veins courses the blood of the Ancients. It runs through Sienna's, too! We are the rightful heirs to the Planet!"_

"Sephiroth…" Jeanne heard Cloud say behind her as Claire said 'Sienna…' She turned to watch as the twins fell. Jeanne moved and caught Claire though as Cloud hit the ground.

"Cloud!" Tifa cried.

"Pull it together, man!"

"Are you all right?" Jeanne asked the young woman in her arms.

"Yeah," Claire pushed herself to her feet as Cloud stood again as well. "Old things just keep popping up in my mind."

Jeanne sighed. ~They'll be doing that for the rest of your lives…the rest of our lives~

**Yo ho Yo ho**

**A pirate's **

**life for me**

"**Ms. Elmyra…" **Claire knocked on the door and opened it as she led the way inside. Jeanne took a look around the house. Nothing was broken, so Tseng did as she said and didn't hurt anyone.

"Cloud and Claire…wasn't it?" The woman in green was staring at a picture of her and Aerith on the wall. She turned to face them. "It's about Aerith, isn't it?"

"Sorry." Cloud lowered his head. "The ShinRa have her."

"I know," The woman turned. "They took her from here."

"They were here?" Claire asked in surprise.

"Why is ShinRa after Aerith?" Cloud asked.

"Aerith is a Cetra," Everyone looked at Jeanne as she stood there by her door, eyes closed as she kept her hands in her pockets. "An Ancient. The Final one."

"How do you know that?" Cloud asked.

Elmyra looked at her and then nodded. "You…you were the man's partner, weren't you?"

Jeanne opened her eyes. "Yeah, I was." She turned to the twins. "Sienna told me about them...about the Ancients."

"Does that mean…" Barret took a step forward. "Aren't you her mother?"

~No, she's not~ Jeanne told herself. ~Step-mother, not her real mother. Ifalna was…as Professor Gast was her Father before…before Sienna killed them~

Jeanne remembered what she had read in the books that Sienna had left for her.

(If you don't know what I'm talking about, go back and read my Crisis Core Story) She knew all about what Hojo and Gast had done to Sienna and Sephiroth.

Too bad that Sienna hadn't killed Aerith along with her parents.

Jeanne ignored everything as Elmyra told everyone about how she had come across Aerith with the dead Ifalna at the Train as she searched for her husband. He had been in the war in Wutai 15 years ago, but he never returned…Aerith took his place though, so at least the elder woman wasn't alone.

"Returned to the planet?" Barret asked.

"I didn't know what she meant." Elmyra responded. "I asked if she meant a star in the sky. But she said it was this planet…She was a mysterious child in many ways. She had told me that my husband died. I didn't believe her at first…but when I got the letter…" Elmyra sighed. "And then…we received a visit from a Turk. Tseng, I think his name was. They had been looking for her for a while, apparently. They wanted her back, but I refused to let her go, even after he told me that she was special. He said something about Ancients were to 'lead us to the land of supreme happiness'." Elmyra sighed.

"It's amazing how she's avoided the ShinRa for all these years," Cloud commented.

~That's because of Tseng, though~ Jeanne told herself. ~He just watched her with Jena. He wanted for her to wait and come to them on their own. Hojo must have been tired of waiting.~

"Why now?" Tifa asked.

Elmyra shrugged. "She brought a little girl here with her." She then told them. "On the way here, Tseng found them. She probably couldn't get away fast enough. She decided to go with ShinRa in exchange for the little girl's safety."

"Must be Marlene." Claire sighed in relief.

"Marlene? Aerith was caught because of Marlene?" Barret demanded. He then pushed his way in front of her. "I'm sorry. Marlene's my daughter. I'm…really sorry."

"You're her father!" The woman asked. "How in the world could you ever leave a child alone like that!"

"She wasn't alone." Jeanne decided to say. "I was with her until Aerith came into the building to take her away. What Barret did with Marlene while I wasn't there, I don't know, but since I came back to Midgar, I was with her always." Elmyra nodded.

"Even though someone's there, I'm worried about her. I really just wanna be with her…always." Barret told the woman. "See? I'm goin' in circles, now."

"…She's upstairs asleep," Elmyra told the older man. "Why don't you go and see her."

Barret hurried up the stairs and Tifa sighed. "This is my fault. I got Aerith involved in this."

"Don't say that," Elmyra told her. "Aerith doesn't think that."

"Cloud," Claire turned to her brother and watched as he moved upstairs. She sighed and looked back at Jeanne. "What do we do now?" She asked.

Jeanne looked at her. "We should lay low for a while," She told her. "Or we should attack. ShinRa thinks that they destroyed AVALANCHE. They won't be counting on an attack right after their own." She scratched the side of her face. "Will you be able to? You, me, and Cloud can do it on our own."

"But," Tifa took a step forward. Jeanne glanced at her as she was about to continue when Cloud came back downstairs. They all watched as he headed for the door. "Are you going after Aerith?" Tifa asked the young man.

"Yeah," Cloud turned back to her. "It's our fault she got caught. I have to at least save her once."

"I'm coming with you." Tifa told him.

"We're going right into ShinRa Headquarters. You gotta be prepared for the worst."

"I know." The woman nodded. "Right now, I feel I have to push myself to the limit. If I stayed here…I'll go crazy."

Barret ran downstairs and paused in front of Elmyra. "Sorry, but could you take care of Marlene a bit longer?"

"Yes, I don't mind." The woman smiled.

"This place is dangerous now. You better go somewhere else." Barret told her.

"You're right. But promise me that you'll come back to her. Don't get yourself killed." Elmyra replied.

Barret nodded and turned to the others. "Let's go."

"Pah!" Jeanne crossed her arms and moved away from the door. "You all can go, but I'm staying here."

"What?" Claire and the two men looked at her in surprise as Tifa and Elmyra just watched. "Jeanne, we're going into the Main Building! We're going to need you!" Cloud told her.

Jeanne glared at him. "I refuse." She told them. "That woman has nothing to do with me any longer. If you want to save her, go and save her yourself. I'll be right here when you're done." She turned away from him, her arms crossed. She didn't move until after he had scoffed and left the house. Barret and Tifa followed him but Claire still stood there, gazing at her. Jeanne glanced at her. "Go after your brother, Claire."

"But," Claire sighed. "All right. You'd better still be here when we're done!" The door shut again and Jeanne dropped her arms with a sigh. She turned and looked at the woman. Elmyra was watching her closely.

"Seven years…" Jeanne told her. "Seven years…and I thought that I wouldn't care if I ever saw her again…but it seems that I'm still childish over what happened all those years ago."

Elmyra sighed at the woman. "I know that seeing her is hard."

Jeanne shook her head. "He asked me to marry him…almost a week before ShinRa killed him. We were coming back to Midgar to try and save her and my sister…to get them out of Midgar before the Turks grabbed her and sucked my sister in further…I blame his death…all on her…but I know it's not her fault." She squeezed her fists, refusing to let her tears take over. "But I still…I still despise her!" She growled. "Despise her enough to where I…" She stopped herself and gave a sigh. "Zack would be laughing at me right now." She shook her head. "Letting them keep her to do tests and god-knows-what -else to her makes me worse than ShinRa." She lifted her head. "Take care of Marlene. I'll go save your daughter from Hojo. I need to repay him for the tests that he did to Zack and me, anyway."

Elmyra nodded. "I should apologize on behalf of Aerith. I had warned her about getting involved with the SOLDEIR when she told me about him."

Jeanne shook her head. "It's not her fault, I suppose. Zack was…"

Elmyra smiled. She understood what Jeanne was trying to say. "I'll take care of Marlene. Be safe."

Jeanne nodded and left the room. She hoped that the four of the would be outside, but they were already gone. Sighing, she placed a hand on the feather hanging out of her hair. ~Wish me luck, Angeal…Zack…Genesis~ She thought. ~And you too, Sienna…Sephiroth…ShinRa's about to wish that I had died with the five of you as well.~ She took off down the road. The train had been destroyed when Sector 7, so there was only one other way for her to go. ~Wall Market, here I come~

**All right! Jeanne has now returned! It's been a while since she wasn't in the beginning too much, but she's back now, ready for her part! :)**

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	9. Chapter 8

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Chapter Eight**

**Jenova**

"**So, you're no longer Tseng's partner, hmm?"** Reno asked.

He, Rude and Jena were now leaving the Restaurant they had eaten at. It had just been her and Rude to begin with since Tseng and Reno were down in Sector 7 again. Jena refused to take part in killing civilians so she refused to do it. Besides, if Jeanne was there with that woman from before…Claire was it?...ShinRa wasn't going to win easily.

Reno had joined them about ten minutes ago. He ran to them the moment the helicopter landed and joined them just in time for desert. He pounded the sundae he had ordered and was walking with them as they were headed back to the Corp.

"Nope," Jena shook her head. "The President said that after I train these two sisters I will be partners with the two of you again," She told them. "Apparently, I'm holding Tseng back or some stupid shit that the President thinks." She scratched her cheek. "I'll be glad when that idiot dies."

"What your mouth around the Corporation." Rude warned as they entered the building.

"Like I care," Jena told him. "Let them say something to the President. It won't matter. He already knows I hate him so nothing's going to happen."

"She's gotta point." Reno told his partner. "I'm just glad you'll be joining us again. It was never the same after you were reassigned. It tore one of the three peas from the pod, you know? Or ruptured the three Musketeers." He took a breath. "So, where are you going to live when you come back?"

Jena paused for a moment. "Probably Sienna's place. It's still there and I can't just move back in with Cissnei."

Reno and Rude exchanged a look. "You mean…Rufus didn't tell you?"

Jena frowned. Rufus was her Boss in Junon. The Son of the President and so that made him Vice-President. "Didn't tell me what?"

"The President pulled down Sienna's house like a month after you left for Junon. Sephiroth's too. Everything there was destroyed. He kept nothing."

Jena froze on the elevator. Sienna's house…that beautiful place with the garden and crystal pond in the backyard. That room that Jena remembered Sienna's voice as she sang. The three of them, Jena, Jeanne, and Sienna lived there together for four years. The moment Sienna died, the house belonged to Jena. She still owned it. How dare Shinra!

"No, he didn't." Jena began to stomp down the hall to the office. "But I'd like an answer as to why."

Reno couldn't help but laugh and Rude pinched the bridge of his nose as they followed Jena. Her attitude was something that Reno missed, and something that Rude had hoped that she would learn to control in their time apart. The three of them made their way down the hall, heading towards the President's Office, when a door opened to the left and a man came out blocking their path. They immediately stopped.

He was a tall man, in his late 20s, dressed in a blue suit with dark brown hair and eyes. He had a beard, also dark brown, and kept his hair combed back.

"Hey Reeve," Jena raised a hand at the man.

The man in the blue suit turned and smiled "Good Evening, Jena. It's been quite some time. I had heard you were here on vacation and wanted to drop in to see you before you left tomorrow morning."

"Pah, you can barely call it a vacation. Not only does that bastard pull me out to do a job for him, no offense Rude," The man gave a wave while his other hand continued to squeeze the bridge of his nose. "He says I have to return to Junon before the Vacation is over." Reeve gave her a sympathy pat on the shoulder. "He'll regret it in the end though; just you wait." She told them.

"What ho? Is that a threat to the President I hear?" Reeve frowned at the sound of the other woman's voice and they all looked to the room the man had just come out of. He had forgotten about Scarlet being in there.

Said woman stepped out in a red dress with a smug look and crossed arms.

"Well look at that," The female Turk looked over the other woman. "You've changed your dress."

"Indeed I have! You can't call me Big Bird now, can you?" Scarlet hollered.

Jena took another small glance at the woman in red and smirked. "Whatever, Elmo."

As she walked away from the boiling woman in red, Jena felt pleased. She didn't feel like going to argue with the President now. Making fun of Scarlet always had its benefits.

_**~I bleed for you**_

_**Forever I will lie awake**_

_**I would die for you**_

_**I see the truth**_

_**I've given you my heart to break**_

_**I would die for you~**_

The group of four now stood before the ShinRa building. It was tall, towering over hundreds of feet over their head. Claire scowled as she looked at it. This place had done so many bad things to so many good people. What made her want to work here in the first place?

"Hey, You 2 oughta know this building well," Barret said.

"…Not really," Cloud answered him. "This is the first time I've ever been to the Head Quarters. That's why I had wanted Jeanne to come with us. She was a SOLDIER longer than the two of us were."

"I heard about this place before. Every floor above the 60th is special and not easy to get to; even for employees." Barret said. "Must be where they took Aerith. The Security's pretty tight now. Awright, let's go!" Barret moved to the front door but Tifa caught him.

"Wait a second! You're not thinking of just going right through the main entrance, are you?"

"Well, what else does it look like? I'm gonna kick some ShinRa butt and-"

"That's not going to work! We've got to find another way."

"Ain't gonna be no other way! If we keep wastin' time like this, Aerith'll-"

"I know that! But if we get caught here…" Tifa paused and turned to the twins. "Cloud, Claire, what should we do?"

Claire glanced at the building for a moment and turned to her brother. "If we had Jeanne with us, we could have taken the front entrance, but it would be dangerous and foolish to pull without her, so let's go the back entrance."

Cloud nodded in agreement and led the around the side of the building and into the unguarded backdoor of ShinRa. Barret's mouth dropped open the moment he saw all of the stairs.

"Yo… You really gonna take these stairs all the way up?" He gulped.

"Well we've got to get to Aerith to help her somehow."

"Talk about out of the way," He grumbled.

"Stop whining and just move it!" Claire led the way up the stairs.

"Hey!" Tifa chased after her. "Don't go off alone! We have to stick together in case of an attack!"

The group was silent for the first few sets, but Barret soon began his talking.

"Don't know…why the hell…we gotta…climb…" Barret was breathing hard.

"Because we don't want to start a commotion until we've saved Aerith." Cloud then sighed. "I doubt that's possible though…"

Barret then laughed. "Knock it off. You're giving me the creeps."

"How are we giving you creeps?" Claire asked. "It should be the other way around, Gun-arm." She said called over her shoulder to him. The stairs were starting to get harder on her too, but she could handle it.

Barret, unable to think about to say back, just stayed silent, resulting in the Strife Twins laughing.

"So," Barret decided to speak again after a few more flights. "Even you will fight for someone else. I had you figured wrong, I guess."

"Who cares what you figured!" Cloud demanded. The stairs were starting to get to him as well.

"I'm just sayin' mebbe I was wrong." Barret told him "About botha ya."

"Aww, don't get soft on us now, Gun-arm." Claire said as she and Tifa giggled.

"Why are you two laughing?" Cloud asked.

"Female humor;" Claire called back to her brother. "You wouldn't understand it even if we explained it to you." She watched her brother shake his head and gave another laugh.  
>"How much farther do these stairs go on?" Barret demanded.<p>

"Why don't you ask them?" The two girls decided to snicker.

He ignored them. "It's not one of them endless stairways or something, d'ya think?"

"Of course not!" Tifa replied.

"Right," He agreed. "It couldn't be that…"

"Please," Claire shot the large man a look. "Don't be stupid, Barret. Even ShinRa hasn't gotten that far into technology yet. Besides, why would anyone want to build a set of those?"

"So stupid people will ask that question." Cloud decided to say. The twins shared their own laugh that time as Barret spewed a line of curses at them.

Things were silent for a few more flights until…

"Are we there yet?" Barret asked.

"Not yet." Tifa answered.

There was a paused.

"…There yet?"

"Nope." Claire told him.

Another pause.

"Yo…"

"Look," Tifa halted him. "Don't even ask! We're way way way way far away from being there, ok!" She growled.

"Damn, man! I've had it! I'm going back!" Barret claimed, turning.

"What? And take just as long going down as you did coming up?" Tifa asked as she paused. He stayed silent.

"Dumbass." Claire shook her head. As she continued to climb, Cloud right behind her. She wouldn't say it aloud, but this was rather fun. It was comical to listen to Barret and Tifa talk like this; it was fun to add her own little tidbits here and there, too.

They had to pause just once to let Barret and Tifa catch their breath. Cloud and Claire were breathing hard too, anyone would be, but they could continue on without a problem.

"C'mon Barret," Tifa told the large man. "Pull it together."

"Yeah, well, all I know is I'm just flesh'n'blood…cept for this arm of mine." He lifted the metal arm. "Don't you treat me like I'm some ex-member of SOLDIER or something?"

"Hey!" Claire growled warningly as she balled her fist. She and her brother were 'flesh and blood' too!

"What about me! I'm human too!" Tifa then sighed. "Oh, do what you want, I'm going on!" She turned to head up but then turned back to Barret. "You go first!"

"You pansy." Claire told her friend as she pushed herself forward past them to continue leading the way.

Cloud kept stride with his sister, Tifa and Barret falling further and further behind them. They had to pause to wait for them several times, but they didn't grow annoyed. They knew how hard this was. They had to give them time to move.

"Yo….what floor is this?" Barret called up to them from a few flights under.

"I gave up counting." Tifa admitted as she turned to another flight.

"The 39th," Claire leaned over the railing to shout down to them.

There was a pause. "How do you know that?" Barret called up. "Never mind; don't answer that." He then sighed. Why do they gotta build these buildings so damn tall? That ShinRa…they're just no damn good." Barret commented.

The twins had to agree with him. Anyone who built buildings like this was stupid. But then again, the employees didn't really take the stairs. They had the elevators.

The other two finally caught up to them and they took a slower pace so they could keep up this time. Barret still had to continue with his talk though.

"Man, I'm beat," The man panted. "Marlene Daddy wanted to see your face one more time…"

"Would you stop acting like a retard and climb!" Tifa yelled at him.

"Yeah, just shut up!" Claire agreed. "It's not that much more."

"Hopefully." Tifa mumbled.

"You're not really helping!" Cloud told her.

They finally reached the top and Tifa and Barret were leaned over; breathing hard.

"F…finally…m…made it!" Barret huffed. "Ne…never wanna see…any more stairs the rest of my life."

"Yeah," Tifa agreed. "It really takes it out of you."

Claire and Cloud shared a look before Claire put her hands on her hips. "Stop being babies and let's just go." She told them as her brother led the way though the door.

What they found on the other side of the door was not something that they had been expecting. Jeanne stood in the middle of the room with three guards sprawled out on the floor around her. There was a card on a chain that she was swinging around her finger and she turned at the sound of the other door opening. She grinned.

"What took you guys so long?"

"Jeanne!" Claire said in relief. "I knew you'd come."

"How did you get up here so fast?" Barret demanded.

"I took the elevator," She shoved her thumb over her shoulder.

"What? How?" Tifa demanded.

"Well, if you walk in without causing a problem or looking suspicious, no one cares." Jeanne told them. "I thought that you'd know that." She gave Cloud and Claire a look. "Come on. Let's go save what's-her-name and get out of here before something really bad happens."

The others nodded and Claire led the way to the Elevators again. Cloud grabbed Jeanne's shoulder. "Thanks." He told her.

She gave him a grin. "I wasn't just about to let you two come alone, Cloud." She assured him before they joined the ones on the elevator.

Slipping past ShinRa employees and snitching their keycards was easy. The only part that annoyed them all was Floor 65 with the large Midgar replica that they had to find missing parts for.

It wasn't until they reached the 66th floor that Jeanne watched as a meeting room was filled. She narrowed her eyes and quickly moved. She remembered eavesdropping on a meeting like this before from an air duct above the room. You could get there from the one in the bathroom. How she remembered how much trouble she and Jena were in. It was a good thing that Sienna arrived before the President could break out their punishment.

She left the others in the bathroom; Claire locked to door so no one could walk in on them, and climbed through the air duct to the vent that she had listened through last time.

Things were silent as everyone sat down and a man stood up.

"We have the damages of Sector 7," The man began. Jeanne recognized him as Reeve Tuesti. "Considering those factories we all ready set up and all the investments, the damage is set at 1 billion Gil. The estimate cost to rebuild Sector 7 is…"

"We're not rebuilding." The President cut him off.

Reeve looked surprised. "What?"

"We're leaving Sector 7 as it is. ~You bastard.~ Jeanne growled to herself. "And restarting the Neo-Midgar plan."

~The what plan?~ She asked herself.

"…Then the Ancients?" Reeve asked.

"The Promised Land will soon be ours." The President announced. Jeanne rolled her eyes. They still hadn't given up on that yet? "I want you to raise the Mako Rates 15% in every area."

Palmer, a fat, baling man in a tan suit, seemed to be pleased. "Rate hike! Rate Hike! Tra, la, la! And please include our Space program in the budget!"

Jeannne remembered a Wutai woman she had met said that she had become involved in the Space Program. She began to wonder if that even worked. (Yes, Renee will be returning as well, but guess with whom? lol)

"Reeve and Scarlet will divide the extra income from the rate increase." The President's words made Palmer frown.

"Sir," Reeve stood again. "If you raise the rates, the people will lose confidence…" He warned.

~At least someone cares~

"It'll be all right," The President assured him. "The ignorant citizens won't lose confidence; they'll trust ShinRa Inc. even more."

Heidegger began to laugh. "After all, we're the ones who saved Sector 7 from AVALANCHE!"

So that was their story, was it? ~Son of a~ Jeanne's thoughts broke off as a man walked into the room below her.

A man that she didn't want to ever see in her life again.

Professor Hojo.

Even thinking about that greasy-haired lab coat man made her shiver and pop Goosebumps.

"Hojo," The President greeted. "How's the girl?"

The black-haired, glasses wearing man looked at the other at the head of the table. "As a specimen she is inferior to her mother. I'm still in the process of comparing her to her mother Ifalna, but for now the difference is 18%."

"How long will the research take?" President asked.

Hojo tilted his head to stare at the ceiling. "Probably 120 years. It's probably impossible to finish in our lifetime. Or in the lifetime of the Specimen too, for that matter." Hojo turned to leave again. "That's why we're thinking of breeding her. Then we could create one that could withstand our research for a long time."

"What about the Promised Land?" Shinra asked. "Won't it hinder our plans?"

"That's what I need to plan. The Mother's strong…and yet has her weaknesses." Hojo began to laugh. "Oh, if only those SOLDIERs had not escaped those three years ago." Hojo sighed. "Then this might have been much easier. After all, the two women did take nicely to the tests. Everything would be much easier." He repeated.

Jeanne changed her surprised look to one of anger and hatred. She hated this man for several things, but him doing tests and her, Zack and the Strife twins really pissed her off. She hoped that when her day for revenge could come that she could repay him for every little thing that he had done. Sephiroth and Sienna's unfair treatment from him included in that.

"That concludes our meeting." The President stood. And everyone filed out. Jeanne crawled out of the duct to find the others still waiting on her.

"Did you find out where Aerith was?" Tifa whispered.

"Yeah. We're going to have to follow Hojo to her." Jeanne replied, leading the way.

"Hojo, huh?" Cloud pondered for a moment as they all followed the older woman. It took all of her self-control to not pounce on Hojo ass they followed him. She had hated that crazy scientist since she could remember and she doubt that that would change anytime soon.

"I remember him," Barret decided to speak as Hojo left the stairs and entered the 66th floor. "That Hojo guy, he's in charge of the ShinRa's Science Department. Don't the three of you know him?"

"This is the first time we've actually ever seen him." Cloud responded for him and his sister. "So…that's what he looks like…"

"Be happy that this is the only time," Jeanne muttered darkly, peeking around the door. "I've regretted meeting him since that first day." ~For more reasons than 1~ she added to herself.

She led them forward again, but had to come to a halt again as he stood before a glass tube; she remembered this place. This was where she and Zack had to come and 'protect' Hojo when Genesis and Hollander were after him. This time the tube wasn't empty. A red dog-like creature was laying there. Claire's heart cried for him.

Hojo was just standing there and so Jeanne and the others quickly hid; she ended up behind a couple of crates beside a door with a pink glowing window. It was a good thing they hid too cause another man walked up beside Hojo.

"Is this today's specimen?" He asked.

"Yes. We're starting right away. Raise it to the upper level." The Scientist told him. The man walked away and Hojo leaned forward, placing a hand on the glass. The creature inside let out a growl. "My precious specimen…" He then walked back the way the man had and Tifa hurried to the glass.

Jeanne ignored what they said though as she found herself staring at the door behind her.

JENOVA was printed across the door. Her eyes widened. She remembered that name from Sienna and Sephiroth's files…and from Nibelheim! That was the Calamity that fell from the sky all those years ago! But what was it doing here? Hojo must have taken it from Nibelheim all those years ago!

Moving closer and peering inside, Jeanne recognized the body at the form that she had seen Sienna and Sephiroth calling 'Mother'. But its head was no longer there. She remembered Sephiroth holding it as he and Sienna fell.

"What's this?" Claire's voice reached Jeanne as she and her brother moved in front of the woman that had backed away and the twins took in a look. It was a few moments later when both the blonds backed up; Cloud holding his head and Jeanne with her eyes closed and her face twisted in pain.

"No," Claire groaned. Tifa ran to her friend and caught her as she fell. "Jenova…Sienna's…"

Jeanne moved to Cloud and placed a hand on his shoulder, stabling him. "Sephiroth's…" He moaned, hanging onto her arm. "So…they've brought it here."

"It appears so." Jeanne nodded softly.

"Be strong!" Tifa told her friends.

"Did you see it?" Claire asked. "Even without her head…"

"See what?" Barret turned and took his own look.

"It's moving…how can it still be alive?" Cloud wondered.

"It's not human," Jeanne replied softly. "It can survive without one.

"Where's its %$#& head? This whole thing's stupid. Let's keep goin'." Barret told them.

Jeanne let go of Cloud and turned to lead the rest of the way. They jumped on the small elevator before bursting out onto the next floor.

**And that's where I'm stopping this Chapter. Sorry it took so long! My summer Classes for College started and my hours at work were a lot this week. It's the fourth of July next week, so I apologize if only one Chapter is made, but I promise after that, everything should be back to normal! **

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	10. Chapter 9

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Chapter Nine**

**You're…alive?**

Hojo stood before the tube that Aerith was standing in. The look on her face was full of fear as she stared back at the man in the lab-coat.

"Aerith!" Cloud cried out. That brought their attention to the five that stood to the side.

"Cloud!" The woman in pink cried back happily.

"Aerith?" Hojo tested it. "Oh, is that her name? What do you want?"

Jeanne took a step forward, her eyes not once leaving the man with glasses. "Hojo," She growled, balling her fists. She opened her mouth to say something else, but Claire jumped in front of her.

"We're taking Aerith back!" She claimed.

"Outsiders…" Hojo glanced back at the woman in the tube.

"Shoulda noticed it earlier, you…" Barret started to scowl.

Hojo ignored him. "There's so many frivolous things in this world." Cloud ran towards the man and Barret pointed his gun-arm at him. "Are you going to kill me? I don't think you should. The equipment here is extremely delicate. Without me, who could operate it? Hmm?" He chuckled.

"Ugh," Cloud groaned.

"That's right. I recommend you think things out logically before you make any rash moves." The man laughed again. "Now, bring in the Specimen!"

The machine started and they all watched as the red beast from below was brought into Aerith's tube. The woman in pink began to beat on the glass, calling for Cloud's help.

"What do you think you're doing?" Claire demanded as they all watched.

Hojo pulled a sly face. "Lending a helping hand to an endangered species…Both of them are on the brink of extinction…If I don't help, all these animals will disappear."

"Animal!" Tifa demanded. "That's terrible! Aerith is a human being!"

"You're gonna pay!" Cloud growled.

"Ha!" Jeanne shoved her way past the others and stopped ten or so feet away from the Scientist. "What makes you think that I care what happens to the Cetra, hmm? You can kill her for all I care, Hojo. I just want my revenge on you," She narrowed her eyes, ignoring the others as she stared at Hojo. "I'm going to make you regret ever doing those tests on us!"

Hojo stared at her for a moment before his face lit up. "It's you…no wonder you looked familiar. Just like your sister." Hojo smirked. "Your attitudes are just the same." Hojo took a step forward. "Have you come to return being a Specimen of mine, Jeanne?"

"What?" Claire turned to stare at Jeanne. "What does he mean?"

Jeanne ignored her as Barret began to shoot at the tube that held Aerith and the red beast. "Don't kid yourself. I'm here to return the favor, you bastard!" She went to draw her sword but the bright light from the tube that Barret had been firing at grabbed her attention and made her turn.

Hojo ran forward. "Wh…what are you do-Oh! My precious specimens…" The man groaned and opened the door to make sure the two inhabitants were okay. The light fell and the red beast jumped out onto Hojo, ripping at him.

Cloud ran in and grabbed Aerith and they ran back out. Claire had a firm grip on Jeanne, keeping her from jumping on Hojo. Jeanne went to shrug her off, but she paused.

"The elevator…" She turned to look at it.

Hojo began to let out a laugh as he claimed something about the red beast being ferocious. The beast then jumped off of him and began to growl at the elevator.

"He's rather strong," It said. "I'll help you all out."

"It talked!" Tifa gasped, eyes wide as she slapped a hand over her mouth.

"I'll talk as much as you want later, Miss." It told her.

"Cloud, Claire, you stay with me and him," Jeanne drew her sword as she and Claire took positions. "Barret, and you Tifa take…" She gave Aerith a look to see that the woman in pink was shaking. This was her fault. She was the one that had sent Tseng after her in the first place, so of course she felt responsible; even if she did hate her. "Take her somewhere safe."

"On it!" Tifa grabbed Aerith's hand and Barret led the two women out of the room.

"What's your name?" Cloud asked as he took his place between his sister and Jeanne.

"Hojo has named me Red Xlll. A name with no meaning whatsoever to me. Call me whatever you wish." He told them.

"All right, Red," Jeanne watched as Hojo's creation ran at them. "I hope you know what you're doing."

The creature seemed to be a mix between a plant and a large man with claws and sharp teeth. Cloud moved quickly and chopped off an arm as Red Xlll attacked the creature's feet. Claire shot some lightening Magic at it and Jeanne rushed forward, stabbing her sword in its abdomen. She locked eyes with it for a moment before Genesis' sword heated up and fire went off inside it.

The creature fell and Jeanne puller back her blade as the three that hid ran back to them.

"Aerith, are you all right?" Cloud asked.

"She seems all right," Tifa answered him. "In many ways."

Jeanne ignored them and turned to Red Xlll. "Thank you," She grinned.

The beast nodded. "I have a right to choose, too. I don't like two-legged things."

"What are you?" Barret decided to ask.

"An informed question, but difficult to answer. I am what you see. You must have many questions, but first, let's get out of here. I'll lead the way." Red Xlll told them.

"All right," Cloud's sister began to introduce everyone. "I'm Claire, that's Jeanne, my brother Cloud," She continued as Aerith turned to Cloud.

"Cloud…" She stepped forward. "So you did come for me."

Cloud had a slight flush on his cheeks as Red Xlll turned to the woman in pink. "I apologize for what happened back there. I was merely acting to throwing Hojo off guard."

"Speaking of which," Jeanne glanced around the room again but the man was gone. She would of loved to have gone and chased the man down but the Turks and whatnot were probably all ready informed and on their way there.

"Let's get the hell outta here!" Barret had apparently been thinking the same thing.

"If all seven of us go together, we'll be noticed," Claire said. "Let's split up. Since Jeanne knows the ShinRa building, Cloud and I will go with her. Barret, Tifa, take Aerith and go with Red Xlll. We'll meet up at the 66th floor elevator."

The four of them took off and Jeanne paused a moment longer, glancing around the room. Hojo was gone, as were the others that had been there in the room with them. They were going to be in trouble if they didn't get out of here soon. They had to take it carefully and stay out of sight.

"When we meet back up, we should take the stairs back down. It will take a while but we'll be safe and get out without being caught." Claire offered up her opinion.

Cloud gave the two women another look before leading the way out of the room. "Good idea."

It didn't take long for them the reach the elevators on the 66th floor. They were surprised to see Tifa standing there outside it, waiting on. Then Barret backed out; and Red Xlll, and Aerith. Then a man in a black suit followed them.

"Crap. It's a Turk," Claire groaned as the man in the black suit stood before Tifa and the others. It wasn't just any Turk, either.

"Rude," Jeanne's voice calling out his name made the Turk turn around. She couldn't see his eyes due to his sunglasses but she knew, she could tell, that he was surprised.

"You…" He said. "You're…alive."

"Rude, what's the hold up?" A second Turk appeared.

Jeanne smirked. "Well look at that. It's Tseng, too."

The man followed his companion's gaze and his mouth dropped open, but just for a moment. "Jeanne," Tseng cleared his throat. "So, it was you."

"You know these two?" Barret demanded.

"Of course." Jeanne put her hands on her hips. "I was a SOLDIER for five years." She turned back to the two Turks. "So, how have you been?" She asked. "Still wiping the President's butt when he does something wrong?"

"Jeanne," Rude took a step forward.. "Where have you been all this time? Jena's been-"

Tseng took his own step forward, cutting his companion off. "Jeanne; you know what I have to do."

The woman smirked as guards encircled them. "Taking me to go see the Prez again, eh?" She scowled. She didn't like the thought of seeing that man again, but there was nothing that she could do at the moment. Guns were pointed from them and though they were on the opposite side, Jeanne didn't want to hurt Rude or Tseng. 5 years of friendship was still in her mind. She held her hands out to the long-haired man. "Don't worry. I'll try not to bite him. Not yet, anyway. My time for revenge will come."

**Jeanne continued to wear a scowl. **She was back in the President's office. She hated coming here all those years ago and found out that as she stared at the smirking man behind the desk that she still did. Something in her told her not to struggle and so Jeanne let them take her sword and put cuffs on her and the others. They had taken Aerith off somewhere else, though.

"Where's Aerith?" Cloud demanded.

"In a safe place," The President replied, standing. "She's the last surviving Ancient." He stepped to the side. "They called themselves the Cetra, and lived thousands of years ago. Now they're just a forgotten page in history."

Jeanne sighed. "If only that were true. Yet here you fools are; chasing after her."

The President stepped towards Jeanne and paused inches from her. He stared at her for a moment and then smirked as she glared. "I almost didn't believe it when Tseng told me that you're the one that gave the Ancient's whereabouts to us," There were gasps and 'what's' in the room as Jeanne closed her eyes, trying to ignore them all. "I never thought I'd see your face again, Jeanne."

"I was hoping that I wasn't going to be given your ugly-ass face to look at again, either." She sighed. "But it looks like I can't always get what I want." She shrugged.

"I must thank you, Jeanne. Though you're no longer a SOLDIER, your final actions still helped us. Now with the Cetra, we will be shown the way to the 'Promised Land'. I'm expecting a lot out of her."

For some reason that made Jeannne were more mad than she was before. "If Sephiroth and Sienna couldn't make it to the Promised Land," She snarled. "Then neither will that little brat!"

Cloud and Claire didn't know what to think. Jeanne had been the one that told the Turks where Aerith was? That explains why she didn't want to come with them to save Aerith. She's the one that gave her in the first place and the reason why they were now there! Did she also tell ShinRa that AVALANCHE was in Sector 7 as well? No, the twins didn't believe that. Jeanne wouldn't have gone that far. All those people were killed. Jeanne wouldn't do that, no matter what. Right?

"The Promised Land?" Red Xlll asked. "Isn't that just a tale?"

"Even so it's just too appealing to no pursue. It's been said the Promised Land is very fertile."

"Then there's gotta be Mako!" Barret screeched.

"Exactly," Shinra nodded. "That's why our money sucking Mako Reactor is necessary. The abundant Mako will just come out on its own. That is where Neo-

Midgar will be built. ShinRa's new glory…"

~oh, so that's what that was~ Jeanne told herself.

"Quit dreamin'!" Barret scoffed.

"Oh really, don't you know? These days all it takes for your dreams to come true is money and power. Well, that is all for our meeting," He sighed and turned back to Jeanne. "Hojo has asked for your return to his labs," He informed her as Rude forced the others away.

Jeanne scoffed again. "What you do to the Cetra, I really don't care, but I won't be a test subject ever again." She took a breath. "The day you have a sword in you is the day I'll be pleased."

"**What the hell, Jeanne?"** Claire glared at the woman. "You were the one that told the Turks where Aerith was? Why?"

Jeanne, eyes still closed as they were led to the cells, sighed. "It doesn't concern you, Claire."

"The hell it doesn't!" Claire wasn't mad that Jeanne had given Aerith to the enemy; infact she didn't care. She was mad because she hadn't been involved in the plan.

"Were you the one behind…Sector 7?" Barret's voice was full of anger.

Jeanne came to a halt and turned; the guards hand still on her arm. "The fact that you even believe that makes you just as annoying as ShinRa. When you all calm down, things will go back to the way they were before." She turned and continued down the path with her guard trailing behind her.

Barret and Red Xlll were in a cell together. Aerith and Claire were in another one, Cloud and Tifa were between the two of them, and Jeanne was across the hall in one of her own. All their weapons had been taken; even Barret's gun arm had been taken off and now rested in the room on the other side of the room towards the front of the Cells. Everyone stayed silent, neither of them wanting to talk in the feel of the uneasiness traveling between them all. Finally, Tifa couldn't handle it anymore and turned to look at Jeanne.

"Does the Promised Land really exist?" She asked.

It was Aerith who answered, though. "I don't know." Aerith shook her head. "All I know is…the Cetra were born from the Planet, speak with the Planet, and unlock the Planet. And…then…The Cetra will return to the Promised Land. A land that promises supreme happiness."

"What does that mean?" Tifa asked.

"More that words…I don't know." Aerith answered.

"It means that the Cetra will all die and return to the planet to reside in the Promised Land when their time is up," Jeanne called from across the way in her own Cell as she stared up at the ceiling. "Everyone will end up in the Promised Land when their time is up."

Tifa nodded her head and Cloud looked back at the wall Aerith was behind. "Speak with the Planet?" He asked.

"Just what does the Planet say?" Claire asked.

"It's full of people and noisy. That's why I can't make out what they're saying."

"You hear it now?" He questioned.

"I, I only heard it at the Church in the Slums. Mother said that Midgar was no longer safe. That is…my real mother."

"Ifalna," Jeanne mumbled to herself, glancing at the woman in pink.

"Someday I'll get out of Midgar…Speak with the Planet and find the Promised Land. That's what Mom said. I thought I would stop hearing her voice as I grew up, but…"

Jeanne took a breath. "I thought that I'd stop hearing my Mother's voice as well," She decided to say. "But I'm glad that I didn't. It lets me know that she's still there with me; watching over me."

"I thought you were an orphan." Barret decided to join the conversation.

It stung like a slap and she glared at the black man. "Sienna was my Mother; due to birth or not, it doesn't matter." She growled.

That was when everyone decided to settle back into a sleep. Jeanne had started to drift off until-

"Jeanne?" The woman lifted her head at the young man calling her name. She looked across the way through the two sets of bar doors. Cloud stood there, looking at her. Everyone else was asleep, so it was just the two of them.

"What?" She asked. "I'm not going to tell you why I did it. The answer is…personal."

"I understand," He called to her. She raised an eyebrow. "You and Aerith have met before. What you do is your own business, but I just wish that the next time you do something like that you'd tell me so that I know and don't feel like an idiot when what you do has been revealed, ok?"

Jeanne looked at him. She had not been expecting that from him. She thought Cloud would have been upset like his sister was. She gave a small smile. "All right. I'll keep that in mind…but now that we're involved, you won't have to worry about me letting them take her again so easily."

Cloud nodded and they were silent for a few more moments. "So, what was it that Hojo did to you? The tests." He asked.

Jeanne glanced at him again. Cloud still didn't know the truth. He and his sister both thought that the incident in Nibelheim happened three years ago, not truly seven. She wanted to tell them, she wanted to tell them everything, but her conscience told her not to. "I'd rather not talk about that." She whispered.

He nodded. "Then…who's your sister?" She looked back at him. "Hojo says you look just like her. Was she a test subject as well?"

Jeanne never told the two of them about Jena, and they never mentioned her. It seemed that the Mako-addiction that the twins had endured erased everything about Zack and Jena; almost a lot about Jeanne until she refreshed their memories. How would she explain it all to them if their memories were to return? Would they understand why she didn't say anything?

"Jena is my sister," Jeanne looked at him again. "She's the Turk that Claire fought in the church."

Cloud raised his eyebrows. "The one with the long braid?"

"Is that how she's wearing her hair now?" Jeanne asked herself with a small smile. "At least she's okay. I haven't…I haven't seen her since the incident at Nibelheim. Since you saw her, she must be okay."

Cloud still stared at her for a moment. There was a lot of things that Jeanne hasn't told him, wasn't there? But of course, Cloud didn't need to know everything. Things happened in everyone's life that they'd rather not let others know about. It was natural. If it was important, Jeanne would tell him, wouldn't she?

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	11. Chapter 10

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Chapter Ten**

**Reunion…sorta**

**Jeanne awoke later that night when Cloud shook her shoulders**. She quickly sat up and noticed that the doors to all the cells were open, but she and Cloud were the only ones up.

"Who opened the doors?" She asked, rubbing her eyes as she stood.

Cloud shook his head. "I don't know, but come look at this," He led the way out of the cell and she followed him.

The first thing that she noticed was the three swords that were stabbed into the wall. Hers, Cloud's, and Claire's. It was then the two guards beneath them, dead, with spikes of ice pinning their heads to the wall from their eye sockets and their mouths. Jeanne's eyes grew wide. The only woman that she knew that could control ice was…but that meant…was she the one who…

"Tifa, wake up!" Cloud's shouting woke everyone up.

"What's wrong?" The woman with black hair asked. She stood.

"Something's wrong. The guards were attacked!" Tifa hurried out to Jeanne who still stood over the bodies, realization still stuck on her face.

"What happened?" Tifa demanded.

"I know…" She whispered. She stood, grabbing her sword from the wall. "I'm going on ahead! Get the others and get the hell out of here!" She ordered them over her shoulder as she ran off.

~It couldn't be…could it?~

The Tank that Jenova's body had been in was ripped to shreds. Jeanne paused for a moment, staring at it and Red Xlll, quickly followed by Cloud, Claire, Aerith, and Tifa, hurried up behind her. She knelt down and ran her fingers over the edges of the ripped parts, ignoring the man's body beside her. It was freezing cold; ice again.  
>"Did it get away?" Cloud asked.<p>

"That or…someone was here." Claire said. "Jenova didn't have a head. Someone must have come and taken her, as well as killed all these people. But who-"

She was cut off as Jeanne jumped to her feet and began to follow the trail of blood to the elevator. She hurried up it, leaving the others behind. She had to get there first. She had to see! Was she there? Were the both of them still alive?

The blood continued to lead and she found herself making her way back towards the President's room. Bodies of employees and Infantrymen were everywhere, following the trail of blood to the main office. Rushing up the stairs and bursting into the room, she froze.

The President was there all right, bent over his desk was a long sword pierced through his back. Hadn't she just recently told the President something about being happy when he was pierced with a sword? Talk about foreshadowing.

Speaking of that sword; she'd recognize that one anywhere.

The Seven-foot long blade…

The Masamune…

Sephiroth…

Tears spurted up in Jeanne's eyes. The last time she had seen that blade…She thought that Sephiroth and Sienna had died. If Sephiroth was still alive, then Sienna was too! She had to find them! Where were they? They would be trying to bring ShinRa down as well, right? Kill Hojo? They could work together. Both of them would agree to work with Jeanne! She knew them for five years! They were like the parents that she never had!

"He's dead," Barret's voice made Jeanne look behind her. Everyone had joined the room. "The leader of ShinRa Inc is dead…"

"That sword!" Tifa recognized it too. She ran forward to grab it, but Jeanne flung her arm out.

"Don't touch it!" She snarled. "No one touch it." She told them. Tifa glanced at her, wide-eyed, but then nodded.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud seemed to recognize it too and Claire wore a small smile on her face.

"Sephiroth is alive?" Tifa asked aloud.

"I knew it…" Jeanne placed a hand over her face and titled her head back. "I knew they couldn't have died from just that.

"Only Sephiroth can use that sword," Cloud told Tifa.

"And that ice in the men back there," Claire added. "If Sephiroth's blade is here, then that was Sienna's ice. She's here, too."

"Who cares who did it! This is the end of ShinRa now!" Barret replied.

"No, it's not." Jeanne turned and faced them. "There's a Vice President, remember?"

"But that's not Shinra!" Barret argued. "Shinra is dead."

"Rufus is still alive, you idiot!" She yelled at him."

"Who the hell is Rufus?" the large man demanded and then he began to curse. "Damn; I forgot about him!"

"Who's Rufus?" Tifa and Aerith asked together.

"The vice-President," She whispered, turning back to face the dead body and the sword. "President Shinra's son." She watched as Palmer tried to flash by them, but she caught him by the back of his collar.

"P-p-p-please, don't kill me!" Palmer cried, trying to pull away.

"I won't," Jeanne assured him. "As long as you tell us what happened."

"It…It was Sienna…Sienna came!" Palmer looked like he was about to piss himself. "Se…Sephiroth. Sephiroth was right behind her."

"Did you see them?" Cloud and Claire demanded together.

"Yeah, I saw them! I saw them with my own eyes!" The man cried.

"You really saw them?" Jeanne asked.

"Uh! Would I lie to you at a time like this! And I heard their voices too! Um, Sephiroth was saying something about not letting us have the Promised Land."

"Then what?" Tifa demanded. "Does that mean that the Promised Land really exists and that Sephiroth's here to save it from ShinRa?"

"So he's a good guy then?" Barret asked.

"Save the Promised Land? A good guy? No way!" Cloud replied.

"Neither is Sienna. She's worse than Sephiroth can be!" Claire added.

"It's not that simple!" Cloud continued. "I know him! Sephiroth's mission is different!"

"You don't know shit about Sephiroth! Or Sienna!" Jeanne's voice was full of malice as she glared at the twins. They pulled a surprised look at her. "You came in towards the end! You weren't around them until all of this happened! They weren't…" She bit her lip to keep the tears back. "This is all ShinRa's fault!" She said again, glaring at Palmer. She wanted to rip him apart, but she let him go and the fat man ran outside as a helicopter arrived outside the large windows, heading for the roof of the building.

Jeanne turned immediately and ran out the door that led to the roof. Palmer was talking to another man.

"So…" The new man said. "So Sephiroth was actually here. Sienna, too."

"Rufus." Jeanne's voice was rough as she glared at the man before her. She hated him just about as much as she hated his father. Now with the father gone, he was all that was left.

Rufus Shinra was dressed in a white business suit with a matching jacket over a black shirt. His eyes were blue and his hair a pale blonde with a look of surprise on his face.

"Jeanne…it's been a while." He glanced around the roof. "I'm not surprised to see you here, but…who are these guys?"

"I'm Cloud, former SOLDIER First Class!"

"Claire, same as my brother."

"I'm from AVALANCHE!"

"Same here!"

"…A flower girl from the slums."

"…A research specimen."

Rufus shrugged. "What a crew you have here, Jeanne." He gave them all another look. "I'm Rufus, the President of ShinRa Inc."

"You only President, 'cause yer old man died!" Barret told him.

"That's right. I'll let you hear me new appointment speech. 'Old man tried to control the world with money.'" Jeanne closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. She didn't want to hear this. "'It seems to have been working. The population thought that ShinRa would protect them. Work at ShinRa, get your pay. If a terrorist attacks, the ShinRa army will help you. It looks perfect on the outside. But, I do things differently. I'll control the world with fear. It takes too much to do it like my old man. A little fear will control the minds of the common people. There's no reason to waste money on them.'"

Jeanne frowned. This was not the Rufus Shinra that she remembered. It seems that the Old President didn't affect just her, did he?

"He likes to make speeches just like his father." Tifa said.

Jeanne took a step forward. "Get out of here," She called over her shoulder to the others. "Rufus and I here have to have a talk." The man smirked.

"What?" Barret asked.

"I'll explain later. All of you! Just get out of here!"

"I'm not leaving you here alone!" Claire took a step up.

"Yes, you are. Get out of here. Now!" Jeanne growled. Claire didn't want to move, but Cloud grabbed his sister's shoulder. "Come on. Jeanne knows what she's doing."

"But Cloud," Tifa sounded worried.

"Come on; let's go." Cloud turned to move way but looked back at the older woman. "Hurry and catch up."

Jeanne nodded; her eyes still on Rufus. She had to wait until the others were all gone. She didn't have to wait too long and she put a hand on her hilt.

"Why do you want to fight me?" Rufus asked.

"You're just like your father," Jeanne shook her head. "I can see it just from the look on your face. He had that same look every time he spoke."

"I'm not like my father. Jena can assure you that," Rufus gazed over Jeanne's shoulder. "Can't you, Jena."

Jeanne froze for a moment before she turned. Someone in a black suit was standing behind her. They were leaning back against the building; her legs kicked out and crossed before them, half of her hidden from the building's shadow. At the name, the form straightened and stepped forward. Jeanne could help but smile. It was Jena. She was older now, her hair longer, but it was her.

"Jena!" She watched her sister's face. It was blank for a moment before she was encased in the black-suited woman's death-grip.

"I knew it! I knew you weren't dead! I feared it when they told me about Zack, but…but I just knew it!" Jena pulled back a bit. "Why? Why didn't you come find me?"

Jeanne wanted to respond, to tell her why, but she was lost for words. Instead she turned back to Rufus.

"Do…do you want the Promised Land just like your father?" Jeanne asked.  
>"Just like…just like Sephiroth and Sienna?"<p>

"Of course," Rufus answered. "Did you know that the two of them are Ancients?" ~That's right…No one besides me, Genesis, and then Sephiroth and Sienna had ever read the books that I was left. That and Hojo, but he'd keep his mouth shut with something he failed on.~

"I…I can't let you have the Promised Land…if it's real." Jeanne told him.

Jena gave her sister a look and pulled away from her. "And if…If Sienna and Sephiroth came to you and asked for your help to acquire it…would you help them?"

Jeanne couldn't answer that question. Not truthfully anyway. Rufus snorted at her reaction.

"I see. I guess this means we're not friends any longer." Rufus seemed to pull a shotgun out of nowhere, holding it in one hand. Jena watched as Jeanne pulled out her sword. She was confused with what to do. What should she do? Rufus had taken care of her for the last 3 years…been there for her for everything. But Jeanne…that was her sister.

~A sister that didn't let you know she was still alive~ A voice rang in her head. ~If she cared she would have let you known.~

Jena was still frozen for a few moments as she watched the bullets fly, the sword swing, and the bodies move. She was caught and so, she had to choose. And the moment that Jeanne's sword found its way past Rufus' gun barrel the moment she moved.

Jeanne was caught off guard as Jena's sais appeared in her hands and halted her blade from its path to Rufus and the other one penetrated her left arm. "Jena!" Jeanne looked confused. "What are you doing?"

"I…I can't let you do this, Jeanne." Jena glanced away from her sister.

Knowing that something was about to burst between the two sisters the man with them decided to move. "Heh, that's all for today," Rufus grasped Jena's hand and dragged her behind him. Jena glanced over her shoulder and watched her sister stare at them as they hurriedly jumped back onto the Helicopter, leaving her behind. Jena wanted to say she's sorry but she couldn't make her throat work. Jeanne just stood there, watching them, that look still on her face.

What could she really say? What could she really do? Try and jump on the helicopter? Bad idea. Call after them? It wouldn't matter. Jeanne had chosen her side and so Jena had chosen hers.

Turning around, Jeanne left the roof of the building. She planned on grabbing the sword out of the ex-President's back, but there was a problem. Sephiroth's sword was gone. There were two conclusions to why it was gone. Cloud or Claire had taken it or…Sephiroth had returned for it. She hoped it was the later.

Thinking to herself what all had just happened tonight, Jeanne headed down the stairs.

"He ran?"

She lifted her head and saw that Cloud and Claire sat on the desks, waiting for her. She sighed. "Yeah."

"Damn," Cloud sighed as he stood. "Things are going to get complicated." He noticed the wound on her arm and reached out to touch it but she pulled away.

"We can worry about that later. Let's just get out of here." She had forgotten about the stab her sister had given her. At that moment the stinging and the blood pouring came to her mind. How had that not come into contact with her mind before?

They hurried down the stairs, but Claire came to a pause as they passed a window. "Holy Shit!" She cried out. "Look at all those guards!" Jeanne and Cloud joined her. "How are we ever going to get out of here?"

Jeanne thought for a moment; what here in the facility could get them out of here. What had she seen before…

"**Miss us?" Claire shouted.** The ones by the door turned to see the young woman running down the stairs with a large smile on her face.

"Claire! Where's Cloud and Jeanne?" Tifa asked.

"Follow me! We're getting the hell outta here!" Claire replied, moving towards the other set of stairs.

"But-"

"Just trust me, Tifa." They all nodded and followed the woman, glancing around the place, looking for Jeanne and Cloud.

That's when the sound of a motor cut through the silence and they all turned around to see Cloud driving a motorcycle down the stairs, Jeanne on the back of it. Claire ran into the small museum that ShinRa had in the back behind the main desk and jumped into the driver's seat, hotwiring the truck. Tifa and Aerith joined her inside the vehicle and Barret took the bed of the truck, Red Xlll jumping in to join him. Cloud circled around them once and then led the way back up the first flight of stairs. Jeanne, a firm grip with one hand on the back of Cloud's shirt, stood up as the bike hurried towards the window. She mumbled a few words under her breath and then fire shot out of her lifted hand, shattering the glass. She sat back down quickly and grabbed Cloud with her other hand as they went soaring out the window, Claire and the truck following them. They flew over all the Infantrymen and whatnot before landing on the bridge and taking off. The Infantrymen weren't going to give in that easily and took off after them in their own vehicles.

There was really no problem with dealing with their followers. Cloud drove while Jeanne took care of the others with her sword with the help of Barret's gun-arm from the back of the truck. And then…the large tank decided to join them as they hit the edge of the road that once led to the top of Sector 7.

"Get back! All of you!" Jeanne flung her hand out, catching Cloud in the chest ass he went to run forward. He looked at her in confusion as her hand traveled into one of the inside pockets in her jacket. When he saw her pull out a small, black glass ball he backed up, knowing what it was.

Jeanne took a breath and then slammed the ball on the road beneath her; a fierce wind began to blow. Cloud gripped his sword tighter. He knew what Jeanne was summoning.

There was a black Portal that appeared from behind Jeanne. Cloud shoved everyone back out of the way as a figure began to materialize out of the black hole. It was a demonic-looking Knight with horns, a long, curved scimitar in his hand, and a black cape. The horse, named Sleipnir, he road held demonic-type attributes as well, such as red eyes and matching body armor.

It was the summon, Odin.

The large summon circle around Jeanne; almost as if in greetings, before charging towards the large tank and slashing it in half with his blade. The Tank exploded, and Jeanne covered her head as bits and pieces showered over them. Odin gave Jeanne another circle before returning to the black hole. It disappeared and the black ball that she had smashed at her feet flew towards her, completely whole, and landed in her hand.

Jeanne, opening her jacket and placing the black ball back into the pocket she moved to stand on the edge of the road, gazing down at what was once Sector 7; the others all stood behind her.

"Well, what do we do now?" Barret asked.

"Sephiroth is alive." Cloud replied. "As is Sienna. We have to settle to score. All three of us." He referred to himself, Jeanne, and Claire.

"And that'll save the Planet?"

"…Seems like it." Claire nodded.

"Awright, I'm going!" Barret told them.

Aerith took a step forward. "I'll go too. I have things that I want to find out."

"About the Ancients?" Cloud asked.

"Many things."

Jeanne gave the woman in pink a cold look. Everyone took notice and Aerith fidgeted under her gaze. "Do you have to come with us?" She asked. "I doubt that a Flower Girl can do very much damage in battle." Aerith lowered her head. "If you do insist on following, then make no mistake; I will not waste any of my time trying to save you." She turned her back to the other woman again.

Cloud and Claire shared a look. Whatever Aerith had done really pissed Jeanne off.

"I guess this' goodbye, Midgar." Tifa sighed.

Jeanne gave her own sigh before grabbing the cord that led to the outer rim of the city. She led the way down in silence, everyone else following her one by one.

"We need a group leader for our journey," Barret decided to say. "'Course only me could be the leader."

"You think so?" Tifa asked.

"I would have to be Cloud." Aerith smiled and Barret froze as Jeanne rolled her eyes.

Tifa, Cloud, and Claire all shared a look before they smiled and said together – "Jeanne's the leader."

The woman in question frowned. "I don't want to be the leader." She told them.

"Too bad," Claire and Tifa moved up on either side of her and hooked arms. "You're the Leader."

"^#$&%," Barret decided to reply. "Awright, fine. Go Northeast to a town called Kalm. That's where we should go for now."

Jeanne nodded and turned to lead the way, the two women still on her arms, Cloud and Red Xlll behind them and then Barret and Aerith taking up the end.

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	12. Chapter 11

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Chapter Eleven**

**False Memories Part 1**

**Jeanne was sitting on the window seat in the Inn at Kalm. **She could just imagine the people below talking about the group of six new people and a large, red, talking animal that came to their village. There hadn't been too many travelers in their home, apparently.

Cloud and Claire were on a bed together; Cloud leaning against the way while his sister was lying across the bottom. Barret was on his own, Red Xlll was in the corner of the room, Tifa was in a chair and Aerith sat on her own bed; the farthest from the woman sitting by the window.

They all had been there in the silence for about ten minutes and Barret finally couldn't take it anymore.

"All right, let's hear this story. You know, the one about Sephiroth, Sienna, and the crisis facing the planet. Let's hear it all."

Cloud received a nod from Jeanne and Claire, telling him to take the lead. He sighed. "I used to want to be like Sephiroth; Claire like Sienna, so we joined SOLDIER. That's where we met the two of them and Jeanne. After a few missions that me and my sister had with the three of them, we all became good friends."

Jeanne turned her gaze to the window again. Listening to Cloud's unknown lie like that made her want to put a stop to it all.

"You call that a friend?" Barret referred to the man who had stabbed the ShinRa President.

"Yeah, well…they were both older then all three of us and they hardly ever talked about themselves." Cloud continued.

~Well that's true,~ Jeanne smirked.

"Wait," Red Xlll decided to speak up. He glanced at the woman by the window. "How did you meet this 'Sienna and Sephiroth'?"

Jeanne gave him a glance before returning to the window. "My sister and I were taken in by Sienna in Junon and brought back to ShinRa. My sister went into the Turks and I followed Sienna into SOLDIER."

"Your sister's a Turk?" Claire demanded, pushing herself up.

Jeanne raised an eyebrow. "You didn't know that?" She gave Aerith a glare. "Did neither Cloud nor Aerith tell you that?"

"You knew?" Cloud asked.

Aerith glanced away and Jeanne smirked again. "Jena is my sister," She told Claire. "She and her partner Tseng watched Aerith for years and she's also the one that Cloud said you fought in the church."

Claire seemed dazed for a moment and Cloud decided to continue. "I guess you could call the two of them our War Buddies. We trusted each other until one day…" Cloud paused.

"One day?" Aerith wanted to hear the rest."

Cloud glanced away from everyone else. "After the war it was SOLDIER's duty to put down any resistance against the ShinRa. That was four years ago. We were both 17…"

Jeanne clenched her eyes shut. She didn't want to hear this…this lie! Zack wouldn't be in Cloud's version! Zack would be replaced by Cloud! This was painful to her, and yet she couldn't leave. She couldn't move.

_**~Blame it on the rain that was falling, falling  
>Blame it on the stars that did shine at night<br>Whatever you do don't put the blame on you  
>Blame it on the rain yeah yeah~<strong>_

_They were all in the back of a large van. Sienna and Sephiroth, in their black leather and read less faces sat with their backs against the wall, both with their arms crossed and eyes closed. A Infantryman was driving, another was sitting across from the two SOLDIERs with Claire beside him. Jeanne was sitting beside Sienna in silence as well and Cloud was on Jeanne's other side._

"_It sure is raining hard," Cloud decided to break the silence as the rain pounded onto the roof._

_Jeanne gave him a glance. "That's the fourth time you've said that, Cloud." _

(Don't forget, it would be Zack she's talking to in the real memory, not Cloud…Sniff…I miss Zack all ready. :( That and also don't forget that both his memories and Zack's memories and combined, so everything personal that happened between Zack and Jeanne won't be there because it will follow what Cloud and Claire had done instead, understand?)

_Claire gave a laugh. "That's because he's annoying." She turned to the man beside her. "You all right?"_

_The man nodded. "I'm all right."_

"_I wouldn't know…I've never had motion sickness." Cloud choose to say. Claire shot him a look before asking the same thing to the driver._

"_Just settle down," Jeanne told the twins. _

"_But,"_

"_She's right," Sienna's eyes opened._

"_Settle down." Sephiroth agreed, his own eyes open as well._

"_They gave me some new Materia." Cloud announced as he began to do some squats. "I can't wait to use it."_

"…_Just like a kid," Sephiroth mumbled. _

"_He always has been." Jeanne told the older man. "Believe me, I know. I'm his partner."_

_Cloud gave her a look before looking back to the other two SOLDIERs. "You going to brief us about that mission?"_

_Sephiroth watched him in silence as Sienna replied – "This isn't your typical mission."_

"_Good!" The blond man grinned._

"_Why do you say that?" Sephiroth asked._

"_The two of us joined SOLDIER so we could be like you," Claire answered as the two elites looked at her. "But by the time we made First Class, the war was already over. Our hopes of becoming heroes was over with the war."_

"_That's why we sign up whenever there's a big mission. Kind of a way to prove ourselves." Cloud finished as he stood up._

_Jeanne raised an eyebrow before she laid down, spreading out across the seat that Cloud had just left and folded her arms behind her head. "You're weird. I'm only here because Sienna asked me to come along."_

"_Well, that's because you were in the War and helped end it." Claire told her._

"_Eh," Jeanne had already argued her point of being in SOLDIER with Claire before. She didn't feel like doing it again._

"_Say, how do you feel, Mister Sephiroth?" Cloud asked._

_Sephiroth gave him a silent stare for a moment. "…I thought you wanted a briefing?" The blond scratched the back of his head. "Our mission is to investigate an old Mako Reactor. There have been reports of it malfunctioning, and producing brutal creatures. First, we will dispose of those creatures. Then, we'll locate the problem and neutralize it."_

"_Brutal creatures?" Jeanne sat up and looked at Sienna. "In Nibelheim?"_

"_Yes," the woman nodded._

"_Nibelheim?" The Strife twins demanded. "That's where we're from." Claire told them._

"_Hmm…hometown…" Sephiroth and Sienna shared a look just moments before something smashed into the van they were in, almost knocking it off its wheels._

"_What the hell?" Jeanne jumped to her feet._

_Sephiroth and Sienna both stood. "That would be our monster…" The silver-haired man wore a small smile._

_Cloud opened the door to find a large, green dragon outside. Cloud and Claire wanted to fight and prove their strength to their idols but Jeanne held them back as Sephiroth and Sienna took care of it. It didn't take too long._

_**~Well I can't stand to look at you now  
>This revelation's out of my hands<br>Still I can't bear the thought of you now  
>This complication's leaving me scared~<strong>_

"Their strength," Cloud shook his head. "It's unreal. They're both far stronger in reality than any story you might have heard."

"So, where do you come in?" Aerith asked.

"Us? Jeanne had seen Sienna and Sephiroth fight so many times before that it didn't affect her anymore but the two of us," Cloud referred to himself and his sister. "We were mesmerized by the way they fought…and then…we reached Nibelheim."

_**~Welcome to the jungle, we got fun 'n' games  
>We got everything you want, honey we know the names<br>We are the people that you find, whatever you may need  
>If you got the money, honey we got your disease~<strong>_

_Sephiroth led the way through the gateway of Nibelheim. Sienna was close behind him and then was followed by everyone else. Jeanne knew that Cloud and Claire were embarrassed about being home. Jeanne was enjoying herself and the three of them joked around with each other. Sienna and Sephiroth had been acting strangely. Neither of them really talked, not even to each other like they normally would. _

_"So, how does it feel?" Sephiroth asked, glancing over his shoulder at the twins. His voice brought Jeanne out of her thoughts. "To be home after all this time? We have no home town. We wouldn't know." He referred to himself and his partner._

_Jeanne tried to stop Cloud, knowing that it was a tender subject to Sienna but it was too late. "Uh…what about your family?"_

_Sephiroth was the one to answer. "My mother's name is Jenova. She died shortly after I was born. My father…" He began to laugh, throwing his head back before placing a hand on his forehead. "Why am I talking about this?" He turned away. "Come on, let's go." They started walking again._

_"What about your family?" Cloud called to Sienna, moving up next to her._

_The look he received was cold making him jump back. "I didn't have one. Never did."_

_Jeanne sighed. _

_**~Well I can't stand to look at you now  
>This revelation's out of my hands<br>Still I can't bear the thought of you now  
>This complication's leaving me scared~<strong>_

"Yo, wait a minute!" Barret stopped the tale. "Isn't that, um…the name of Sephiroth's mother…I remember Jenova. That's the damn headless spook livin' in the ShinRa building!"

"Yes," Jeanne answered, still gazing out the window. "She, technically, is Sephiroth's mother."

"Barret, would you please let us hear what they're trying to say? You can ask questions later." Tifa told him.

"Tifa, I was only…"

"It's all right, Barret," Jeanne told the man. "Tifa's just being difficult."

Barret gave her an appreciate smile.

Cloud lowered his head. "The town was quiet. Everyone must have been staying in their houses, afraid to come out because of the monsters…no, maybe they were afraid of us…"

_**~Stay when you think you want me  
>Pray when you need advice<br>Hey keep your sickness off me tryin to get through  
>Blame all your weakness on me<br>Shame that I'm so contrite  
>Hey keep your fingers off me, why can't I get through?~<strong>_

_As they reached the Inn, Sephiroth and Sienna turned._

_"We depart for the Reactor at dawn," Sienna announced._

_"Only one of you needs to keep watch," Sephiroth told them. "Make sure to get some rest." Sephiroth turned to open the door but glanced back at the twins. "Ahh, that's right…you have permission to go visit family and friends, if you wish." He and Sienna disappeared behind the doors._

_Jeanne had walked off on her own while Cloud and Claire went to go see their mother. The three met back up at the Inn though and headed towards their rooms. Sephiroth and Sienna were gazing out the window on the second floor._

_"What are you looking at?" Jeanne asked, glancing out the window herself. She moved to get a closer look._

_"This landscape…" Sephiroth whispered. "I could swear I've seen it before."_

_"That Mansion," Sienna whispered, her eyes narrowed as she stared._

_"You want to go look at it?" Claire asked. "I'm sure that the front doors are lock since the gate is, but that's not a problem for us. I've been there lots of times!"_

_Sienna shook her head, turning away from the window. They had gotten two rooms. One for the men and one for the women. "No," She answered, shaking her head as she moved into the room for the women. "It doesn't matter."_

_Sephiroth turned and watched her go before turning back to the window. "Get some rest," He told the both of them again._

_The three of them exchanged a worried look._

_Something very weird was going on here._

_**"**__**Tifa! You're our guide?"**__ Cloud asked in surprise that next morning._

_They were all standing outside the gate of the Mansion with a man and his camera._

_"At your service," Tifa tipped her hat and Jeanne let out a laugh._

"_It's too dangerous! I can't involve you in something like this!" Cloud said._

_"She'll be fine if you protect her." Sephiroth told him._

_"Yeah Cloud," Jeanne teased, crossing her arms. "You gotta protect her."_

_"You as well, Jeanne." Sienna scolded her as she began to lead the path into the mountains._

_"Yes ma'am." The young woman elbowed Cloud in the side for laughing at her as they all began to move._

"_Umm, wait! I want a picture!" A man called out, holding up his camera. Sienna and Sephiroth turned in silence and stared at the man for a moment. It took a sec, but the man finally noticed that they were waiting for him to take it and he grinned. "Okay…say cheese!"_

_Tifa began to wave. Cloud crossed his arms to look cool. Jeanne gave a peace sign. Claire refused to have her picture taken. Sephiroth and Sienna just stood there, looking cool as always._

_**A MAKO REACTOR WAS BUILT IN MT. NIBEL. THE COLD AIR OF THE MOUNTAINS OF NIBEL. IT WAS NO DIFFERENT…**_

_Sephiroth was the one that found the bridge and began to lead the way over it._

_"It gets harder from here!" Tifa called up to them but as she spoke snapping could be heard. "Uh…the bridge!"_

_As the ropes snapped, several people grabbed each other. Sephiroth's arm immediately wove its way around Sienna's waist. Jeanne clenched to one of the Infantryman's arm. Cloud reached out and grabbed his sister as Tifa jumped onto the back of the other Infantryman that they had brought with them. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY outside of Sienna and Sephiroth were silent on the way down._

_Cloud slowly regained consciousness to find Claire leaning over him._

_"Are you all right?" She asked._

_He nodded, slowly sitting up. "Yeah. You?"_

_"Of course."_

_"Everyone seems to be all right. Can we get back to where we were?" Sephiroth asked Tifa._

_"These caves are intertwined, just like an ant farm…" Tifa answered. "Oh, and Sephiroth, there seems to be one person missing."_

_Sephiroth closed his eyes. "It may sound cold but we've got no time to search for him. We can't go back now, so we must go on. We'll travel together from here."_

_Jeanne walked over and held a hand out for Cloud. He took it with a smile before they followed the others through a hole in the wall into large room with the walls a mix of glowing green and blue. The flashlight that Claire held reflected off the walls like a mirror, lighting up the whole room._

_"What's this?" Jeanne asked, breath-taken._

_"A mysteriously colored cave." Cloud answered her simply._

_"She slapped his arm with a smile. "You know what I mean!"_

_"It must be the Mako energy," Sephiroth answered. "This mountain is especially abundant in it."_

_"That's why the Mako Reactor was built here in the first place." Sienna told them as she led the way out of the room._

_They soon came across something else. It looked like a geyser but was much, much nicer._

_"And what is this?" Claire asked._

_"A Mako fountain. It's a miracle of Nature." Sephiroth replied._

_"It's so beautiful!" The three girls responded in awe and Sienna smiled._

_But if the Mako Reactor continues to suck up the energy, this fountain will dry up. Just like many others."_

_"B…but why?" Tifa asked._

_Sephiroth answered – "Materia. When you condense Mako energy, Materia is produced. It's very rare to be able to see Materia in its natural state."_

_"Hey," Cloud took a step forward. "Why is it that when you use Materia you can also use magic?" All three SOLDIER looked at him like he was an idiot. "What?" He asked._

_"You're in SOLDIER and you didn't even know that?" All three asked._

_"Well, sorry."_

_Sienna sighed. "The knowledge and wisdom of the Ancients is held in the Materia." She told him. "Anyone with this knowledge can freely use the powers of the Land and the Planet. That knowledge interacts between us and the planet calling up magic…or so they say."_

_"Magic…" Cloud echoed. "A mysterious power." Sephiroth threw his head back and laughed. "Did I say something funny?" Cloud asked, arms crossed._

_"You always do," Jeanne answered._

_Sephiroth shook his head. "A man once told us never to use an unscientific term such as 'mysterious power'. It shouldn't even be called 'magic'!"_

_"I still remember how mad he was," Sienna smiled, remembering._

_"Who was it?" Jeanne asked._

_"Hojo." Jeanne frowned at the name. "An inexperienced man assigned to take over the work of a great Scientist. He's a walking mass of complexes."_

_"Mako fountain…" Tifa cut in. "So, this is where the knowledge of the Ancients is."_

_As they continued on through the Cave and up the rest of the mountain, a conversation started between the final Infantryman and Cloud while the others stayed silent. Jeanne thought that the boys were being foolish with their arguing but Claire soon got involved resulting in Jeanne being dragged into it to. It was about something so foolish._

_Cloud's sword._

_Jeanne caught the look of annoyance on Sienna's face and told them to hush, but none of them listened to her. She crossed her arms and just continued to listen until the Infantryman finally asked the obvious question he should have asked in the beginning._

_"Why don't you ever use it?"_

_Cloud gave a grin. "Use brings about wear, tear, and rust. So usually, I just it with the blunt side."_

_Jeanne shot him a look as they finally reached the reactor. "Copycat."_

_"I want to go inside and look too!" Tifa said._

_"No," Sienna continued her way up the stairs._

_"This is a top-secret facility. Non-ShinRa personnel are not permitted inside." Sephiroth agreed with his partner._

_"But…!"_

_"Keep the young lady safe." Sephiroth told the Infantryman before following after his partner._

"_Eh, you guys have fun. I'll stay out here with Tifa and this guy."_

"_You sure?" Cloud asked his sister._

"_Yep. I'm good."_

"_All right." Jeanne replied and she and cloud followed the other two into the Reactor._

_The building was full of small pods that Jeannne didn't want to look in as they all moved around the room, Cloud towards the large door at the top._

_"Jenova…interesting. The door is…sealed, of course." He began to move away and then turned back in shock. "Jenova?" He glanced down to Sephiroth as the silver-haired man moved down to the first row of pods beside Sienna. Both gazed into one of the pods_.

_"This section is broken." Sienna announced._

_"This is the cause of the malfunction." Sephiroth agreed. Cloud and Jeanne joined them. "Cloud, go seal the valve." Sienna turned away, a sick, enraged look on her face as Sephiroth continued to gaze. "Why did it break?" He asked. Cloud moved to the red wheel and turned it as Sephiroth continued to look into the pods. "Now I see, Hojo. But, even doing this, will never put you on the same level as Professor Gast." Sienna sighed and sat on the stairs. "This is a system that condenses and freezes the mako energy…that is, when it's working correctly. Now…what does Mako energy become when it's further condensed?"_

_Cloud was silent so Jeanne rolled her eyes. "Materia," She answered._

"_Right. Normally. But Hojo put something else in there…take a look."_

_"What is that?" Cloud asked. Jeanne moved to him and glanced into the pod._

_"You average SOLDEIR members are mako-infused humans," Sephiroth replied. Cloud and Jeanne both looked at him as Sienna glared at the floor. "You're enhanced, but you're still human. But then, what are those things? Their mako energy levels are exponentially higher that yours."_

_"Are they…monsters?" Jeanne asked._

_Sephiroth moved away, now standing over Sienna, placing a hand on her head softly. "Yes. The Shinra scientist Hojo was the one who created them.""_

_"Abominations spawned by mako energy…" Sienna stood up. "That's what monsters are." She closed her eyes, her head still hanging_

_"You said 'average' member," Cloud said. "What about the two of you?"_

_It seemed that Sephiroth's head was hurting too, and he stumbled forward, clutching it._

_"Hey! Sephiroth!" Cloud tried to help him but was shoved away as the man continued to stumble forward._

_"Could it be…that I…we…" He lowered his hands. "Were created the same way? Are we the same as these monsters?"_

_"What?" Jeanne asked. "You're being foolish, Sephiroth. Both of you. You can't…" She faltered._

_"I knew…we both knew," Sephiroth continued, as if he hadn't heard her. "Ever since we were children…ever since was first met…we were not like the others. We knew, and could tell about each other, that we were special existences." One of the pods opened and one of the blue/red creatures fell out. "But this…this is not what I mean."_

_"Well," Sienna moved from the stairs and placed a hand on the creatures head. "I now know why I didn't have parents. Monsters don't have parents."_

_"Sienna, you're not a monster!" Jeanne yelled, stomping her foot._

_Sephiroth lifted his hands and stared at them. Am I…a human being?"_

_"Am I?" Sienna whispered, gazing down at the creature still._

_**I DIDN'T QUITE UNDERSTAND WHAT SEPHIROTH AND SIENNA WAS SAYING AT THE TIME. I WAS EVEN MORE SURPRISED BY THE FACT THAT SHINRA WAS PRODUCING MONSTERS.**_

"Damn, Shinra!" Barret cursed. "The more I hear, the more I hate 'em!"

"…Who would ever have thought the Mako Reactor help a secret like that?" Tifa sighed.

"That would seem too explain the increase in the number of monsters recently." Red Xlll said. "I think we should listen carefully, right Barret?"

Barret gave the red beast a glare. "Hmph! Pokin' his nose in where it don't belong. Cloud! Why don't you finish that story?"

"When we returned to Nibelheim,," Claire decided to take over for her brother. "Sephiroth and Sienna lodged themselves within Shinra Mansion.

_**~Well I can't stand to be myself  
>This liberation's seemingly rare<br>And I can't stand the taste of your mouth  
>This sublimation's out of my hands<br>Stay when you think you want me  
>Pray when you need advice<br>Hey keep your sickness off me tryin to get through  
>Shame you cant take this from me<br>Bane on the empty mind  
>Hey keep your fingers off me, why can't I get through?~<strong>_

_The room that Jeanne, Claire, and Cloud had been looking for was in the basement of the Mansion. The first part was a large lab with some table and files and large lights. To the left there was a hall lined with bookshelves that led into another room that was just full of more books and shelves and a desk._

_Sienna's face was buried into one of the books at the desk while Sephiroth paced around the Lab with one of his own, flipping pages_.

_"A life form in the state of suspended animation excavated from a 2000-year-old stratum." Sephiroth was reading out to himself and Sienna. "Professor Gast named this life form Jenova…" He flipped the page and paced across the lab again. Sienna glanced up at him as they both ignored the presence of Cloud, Jeanne, and Claire. "Date X/X/XX – Jenova verified as an Ancient…Date: X/X/XX – Jenova Project approved. Mako Reactor 1 authorized for use…" He walked down a row of cases towards Sienna and the desk. "My mother's name, Jenova…the Jenova Project…Could this be a coincidence…" He lowered the book and slowly lifted his head to look at the ceiling. "Professor Gast…Why didn't you tell me? Why did you die?"_

"_Jenova life form now resides within The Mt. Nibel Reactor, locked away." Sienna flipped a page in her own book. "Date: X/X/XX – Both tests have been performed. Date: X/X/XX – Test Subject One has come. It's strength amazing. Subject 2 has yet to move, though it still grows. Must wait a little longer." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Who were the two subjects? Was that…?" She couldn't continue as Sephiroth watched her and cradled her head in her arms._

_"Sienna?" Jeanne took a step forward. "Is there something that you would like to eat or drink? Something that I could get you?"_

_"We would like to be alone." Sephiroth responded instead, glaring at the floor beneath his feet._

_Jeanne went to speak again but Cloud placed a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head. She sighed and followed them out of the room._

_"All right!" Claire grinned, trying to enlighten the room. "Cloud and I have invited you to a dinner with our mother tonight so between now and then, let's try and crack this code and free that man!" The blonde woman referred to the message they had found moments before about a Turk being locked in that room down the hall. Claire wanted to free him badly._

_Jeanne smiled; glad to get her mind off of Sienna, but it was still hard. That horrible feeling that she had since the beginning of the mission to Nibelheim was still there, just growing larger._

_**FROM THAT DAY, SEPHIROTH AND SIENNA SHUT THEMSELVES INSIDE SHINRA MANOR…AND PROCEEDED TO REVIEW DOCUMENT AFTER DOCUMET LIKE MEN POSSESSED. THE LIGHTS IN THE BASEMENT NEVER WENT OFF…**_

_**AND ON THE SEVENTH DAY…**_

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	13. Chapter 12

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Chapter Twelve**

**False Memories Part 2**

_**Jeanne **__**awoke to fire and screams.**__ Claire was gone, and she didn't find Cloud in the other room. Fear was beginning to strangle her as she threw her clothes on and grabbed her sword on her way out the door. She glanced around the burning village._

_Were the people dead, too?_

_Glancing towards the mountain she saw Cloud and Claire standing over the other Infantrymen that had survived with them and hurried over._

_"Sienna…and…Sephiroth." He was mumbling._

_Jeanne's heart froze. There was no way that Sienna and Sephiroth did this, is there? There couldn't be. Sienna couldn't do this, never. And she wouldn't let Sephiroth either. What had happened?_

_Jeanne put two things together though. The bad feeling she had had in her stomach their entire time they were here had just happened._

_"Is he going to be okay?" Jeanne asked._

_Cloud stood up, nodding. "Yeah. They should be. What happened?"_

_Jeanne went to respond when she felt eyes on her back. She whipped around, her own eyes growing large._

_Before the stairs leading into the mountain, Sephiroth stood sword in hand with Sienna visible just over his shoulder._

_"We're coming to get you…" Sephiroth whispered, staring at the ground._

_Jeanne got a feeling that he wasn't talking to them._

_Then, with the fire surrounding and outlining them, Sephiroth a slowly glanced up at Zack and Jeanne as Sienna gazed over his shoulder. Both wore the same looks of enraged murder as they glared at the two of them before they both turned and walked away through the flames. __**(DAMN HE'S SSSSSSSSOOOOOOOO SEXY WITH THAT LOOK!)**_

_Claire had stayed behind for a moment to help stop the village from burning but Jeanne and Cloud had ran after Sephiroth an Sienna._

_Reaching the Mako Reactor, refusing to even stop to fight off the monsters that attacked them, Cloud and Jeanne burst right into the building just to stop in their tracks at the foot of the stairs, taking in the sight of the two bodies there._

_Tifa and her father._

_"Sephiroth and Sienna did this…didn't they?" Cloud asked, kneeling beside Tifa._

_Tifa glanced at him. He held his hand and she turned away, holding herself in fear. Jeanne watched Cloud clench his hands before following him up the stairs._

_"I hate you! I hate ShinRa, I hate SOLDIER! I hate you all!" Tifa's voice followed them._

_Cloud pulled out his sword and with a yell slashed the Jenova door apart._

_The room was full of wires and tubes, hooked up to a large metal figure behind two statues that Jeanne couldn't see behind._

_"Mother, let's take back the planet together." The voice made Jeanne pause. "I…had an epiphany." That was when she realized that the two figures weren't statues. They were Sienna and Sephiroth. Sephiroth was standing before what seemed to be a female, human form encrusted in metal while Sienna stood next to him, leaning on the wall as she watched._

_"Let's go to the Promised Land," Sienna added, finally pushing herself off the wall._

_"Mother…"They echoed each other._

_"Sephiroth!" Cloud cried as Jeanne called Sienna's name. "Why did you kill the townspeople? Why did you hurt Tifa? Answer me, Sephiroth!"_

_"What did you find that made you do this?" Jeanne demanded._

_They weren't even looked at as Sephiroth began to chuckle._

_"Mother, they're here again. You should have ruled this planter. You were stronger, smarter."_

_"But then they came," Sienna's gaze finally turned to Cloud and Jeanne, glaring._

_"Those inferior dullards…" Sephiroth said. "They came and took this planet away from you."_

_"But don't be sad, Mother," Sienna turned back to the metal figure._

_"We are with you, now…" Sephiroth reached up to the metal form and began to rip it away. Cords snapped and some kind of liquid began to drain from the eyes and mouth. As Sephiroth tossed it away, Sienna raised a hand and froze the destroyed cords so a fire wouldn't start. Both turned back to the tube behind the metal figure, looks of joy and relief on their faces._

_"We meet at least, mother…"_

_Jeanne glanced at the figure with glowing, magenta eyes. Besides the large tubes in the woman's body and the helmet on her head, Jeanne had thought that she was just floating there but that's when she realized that it all wasn't tubes. This woman had things sticking out of her. It looked like her insides; her heart, her intestines, and everything else. She knew that it wasn't but she didn't have a better explanation and she sure as hell wasn't getting a better look._

_She barely noticed Cloud run up the Red Cord and throw his blade up next to Sephiroth's face. Neither he nor Sienna moved. Jeanne didn't either._

_"Sephiroth!" Cloud cried. "Have the two of you completely lost your minds?"_

_Neither of them moved for a second until Sephiroth whipped around with his own sword, knocking Cloud back._

"_What about my sadness? That was my hometown! I knew all those people! My sadness is the same as yours!" Cloud snarled._

"_Ha, ha, ha…my sadness?" Sephiroth chuckled. "What do I have to be sad about? I am the Chosen one. I have been Chosen to be the leader of this Planet, and Sienna will be coming with me!" He gripped his sword. "I have orders to take this planet back from you stupid people for the Cetra. What am I supposed to be sad about?"_

_"Sephiroth…Sienna…I trusted you!" Cloud growled._

_"Sienna let out a 'Pah'. "Trust," She mumbled. "Foolish little boy."_

_He growled and jumped at her but Sephiroth got in his path with his sword and knocked him away._

_"No," Cloud stood up. "You're not…You're not the Sephiroth I once knew!"_

_"Sienna…" Jeanne called out. "Mother! Don't do this!"_

_Sephiroth raised his arms. "I am the chosen one. I have been chosen to rule this planet." Sephiroth flipped his sword and shoved it into the floor as his stare moved to Jeanne. "And Sienna will be coming with me."_

"…**And that's the end of my story."** Cloud finally finished.

"Wait a damn minute! Ain't there more?" Barret asked.

~Much, much more~ Jeanne sadly told herself.

"I don't remember," Cloud told him. "Neither does Claire."

"What happened to Sephiroth and Sienna?" Aerith asked.

"In the terms of skill, neither of the three of us could have killed them." Cloud told her.

"Official records stat Sephiroth and Sienna are dead. I read it in the newspaper." Tifa announced.

"They're not dead," Jeanne decided to speak from her seat by the window. "Besides, ShinRa owns the paper so that's a lie, anyway. I…I want to know what happened to them."

"So do I," Claire and Cloud shared a nod. "We had challenged the two of them…why didn't they kill us?"

"I wonder why I'm alive, too." Tifa nodded.

Jeanne kept her mouth shut. If she were to speak now…

"Seems like a lot of this doesn't make sense. What about Jenova? It was in the ShinRa building, right?"

"ShinRa shipped it from Nibelheim to Midgar." Cloud said.

"Did someone else carry it out after that? It was missing from the ShinRa building."

"It was Sephiroth's blade that was pierced through the President's body; no one but that man can wield it and then there was Ice all over the place. Sienna always used Ice, so adding the blade and the ice together means…" Jeanne didn't need to continue.

"Damn! Don't none of this make sense!" Barret cursed. "I'm going, going, going, gone! And I'm leaving the thinkin' to you!" The large man ran from the room; most likely to go get a drink.

Jeanne sighed and stood from her seat, clutching her leather bag to her. "Let's get some rest tonight before we continue on. The journey's going to be hard, so you'll want as much as you can get." She began to follow Barret down stairs.

"Aren't you going to sleep?" Tifa asked as the sun began to set.

"I will. I just want a drink myself," She lied.

Claire lifted her head. "Want me to come with you?"

The woman shook her head. "Get some sleep, Claire. I'll be back soon." Jeanne disappeared down the stairs and Aerith sighed. ~Just like her sister.~

Not much happened between the next hour or so. Barret had returned and everyone but Claire was asleep. All she could do was stare at the ceiling; she knew why, too. She knew that Jeanne could take care of herself, but she was still gone so of course she was worried.

When Aerith had been brought into the picture, Jeanne had changed. She used to tease and talk to her and Cloud all the time. They were like best friends but now…there wasn't any talking at all. Of course it had only been a few days, but still! She knew that something was going on. She had known the moment that she had met Aerith and she started flirting with Cloud that there was going to be a problem, if only she had done something about it sooner.

No, she can't say that. She tried to keep Aerith away! She tried several times to just leave her but the woman just followed. Talk about stalker. She'd make a wondrous Turk.

Damn. The Turks. That woman that she had fought in the Chapel. That was Jeanne's sister! The explained on how she recognized the sword that Claire wielded. It also explained on why they looked so much alike.

But why hadn't Jeanne told her that she had a sister?

She couldn't take it anymore. Sitting up, Claire decided that she was going to go get her answers from Jeanne, no matter what it took. She glanced out the window to see if she could spot Jeanne and spotted her walking around the corner of the building. With a determined smirk, the young woman took off down the stairs and outside of the Inn, turning the corner. She slowed to a walk for a moment, thinking about just what she was going to say, what she was going to ask, when she heard a snivel.

"Why? Why Zack, why?" At the sound of the quivering voice, Claire's boldness faded away. Peaking around the corner of the Inn, she took in the sight and Jeanne sitting there, clutching a picture to her chest. Tears were swelled up in her eyes, but they hadn't broken free…yet. "Why did you leave me? First Angeal… Sienna and Sephiroth…Genesis…then you…and now my sister? Why are you…all leaving me behind?" Jeanne took a long, quivering breath to calm herself down. "I…I won't let ShinRa get away with any of this, I promise. And I'll keep taking care of Cloud and Claire…just like you asked me to, Zack."

This wasn't the first time that the name 'Zack' had come across Claire. She had it in her head several times before, but she didn't know anyone named Zack. Or did she? Was he someone that she and Cloud couldn't remember during the fight with Sephiroth and Sienna? That meant that Jeanne was hiding something from them, but what?

Claire pulled back away from the corner and turned to walk back inside. This was a moment for Jeanne to be alone.

**I know that this chapter is a little shorter than the other ones, but you all know how I roll. They're all usually long, lol**

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	14. Chapter 13

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Sorry for the wait! School's been busy. Summer Courses are harder than the others, lol!**

**Chapter Thirteen**

**Guess who's back**

**They had come to the conclusion of returning to Nibelheim. **Jeanne had awoken them all at sunrise that next morning to get ready. She and Tifa gathered supplies from the stores, hearing rumors of a man and a woman in matching black were headed East; again, towards Nibelheim. They quickly made it to the Chocobo Ranch, just to learn that the Ranchers held no more Chocobos to give them. So instead they bought some Curiel Greens and went to catch some so they could pass over the marshes without being attacked by the Zolom that inhabited it.

They only needed a few. Barret and Aerith would share one, Cloud and Claire, and Jeanne and Tifa. Red Xlll would be able to keep up on his own feet.

They had caught all of them, the only one they were having controlling was the one that the Twins would be riding. It didn't seem to like the idea of having anything on its back.

"Dammit Cloud!" Claire gripped her brother's waist. "Control this damn thing!"

"I'm trying!" Her brother insisted as he clutched to the birds neck as it tried to buck them off.

Jeanne watched with a frown before stepping forward. Placing a hand on the Chocobos head they all watched as the animal settled down as Jeanne whispered unheard words to it. Claire scowled at her friend as she and Tifa jumped onto their own yellow, flightless bird.

"I hate you," She plainly said.

"Aww, I love you too," Jeanne grinned.

Claire grinned back. That was the Jeanne that she had been missing for the last few days. She was glad that she was beginning to come back out. Maybe she wouldn't have to talk to her anyway.

Barret and Aerith led the way across the marshes. They could all see the shadow of the large Zolom creature chasing after them. Jeanne was surprised to see that there was only one. Had something happened to the others?

And her unasked question was answered when they got past the tawny marshes and to the cave entrance. Before the small cave opening was another Zolom. The Zolom was pinned up, twirled around the large Ice-spike, its blood trailing down from the snake-like creature. It seemed to have been left as a warning sign for them.  
>"Only Sephiroth and Sienna," Claire declared as they let the three Chocobos run off.<p>

"Amazing." Was all Tifa could say as Aerith muttered a 'Wow.'  
>"These guys are pretty strong, I'd say." Barret looked like his knees were about to shake.<p>

"Very much so." Jeanne replied, shoving her hands into her pockets.

"It's a power we should respect…" Red Xlll decided to say as thunder and lightning crashed in the sky.

"Let's split up into different groups." Jeanne told them. "We'll make it through the cave and meet back up on the other side, all right?"

No one wanted to argue and just went along with what the woman, now seen as the leader of the group, said.

So the groups turned to Jeanne, Cloud, and Claire as Red Xlll, Barret, Aerith, and Tifa were together. The two groups took the two separate paths in the cave, resulting in a sigh of relief from Claire.

"Damn, that woman is so annoying!" Claire moaned.

"Who?" Cloud asked.

"Aerith! All she does is ask me questions about you! No offense, but talking about my brother every moment of everyday is just annoy as hell." She was expecting a frown or a comment from Jeanne but the woman gave a laugh as Cloud blushed as they walked through the cave.

"What's so funny about that?" Cloud decided to ask the woman leading the way.

"Oh, it's just that it's kinda cute," Jeanne told him. "A girl trailing after her crush…" Her voice faltered for a moment as she paused in her steps before she moved again through another opening in the cave. Something told Claire that this had something to do with this 'Zack' character that kept coming back up into the picture.

But, again, who was he?

"Just a Second!" A voice called out to them

Pausing, Jeanne turned to the side of the path they were on and smiled. "Rude. Good to see you again." At the sight of the three Turks standing before them, the twins let out their own exclamations. The man in sunglasses gave her a smile and then remembered that she was the enemy this time and let it fall. Jeanne took notice of the two, new women that were with him. "New Turks, hmm? And just who were you trained by?"

"Jena Rush!" The blonde woman said happily. "Or, am being trained by her."

"Ah," Jeanne nodded. "Big sister has trainees now, eh?"

"S-sister!" The second woman sounded surprised before her eyes narrowed. "Traitor." She growled, pointing a finger at the woman in white. It seemed that they knew about Jeanne already.

The blonde was young, no older than Jeanne was, with short blonde hair and brown eyes in the black Turks Suit. The woman beside Rude was a bit different than what you would expect from a Turk. Her hair was short on one side, long on the other(think Davey Havok from AFI during the DecemberUnderground Album) and was dyed a dark blue with golden streaks. She held four piercings in her ears and wore leather gloves.

"Liana, settle down." Rude told her.

"Oh, this won't take too long," The blue-haired woman responded.

"Sir!" The blonde decided to speak before Liana could move. She stepped in front of Rude and Liana. "We're the newest members of the Turks!" She explained. "We were in the middle of being trained by Jena but fell short of people after what you had done to Reno."

~Although,~ Liana decided to tell herself. ~That was the only reason we were promoted into the Turks, I still feel bad for the red-head!~

Jeanne raised an eyebrow and glanced at the twins; they both glanced away, flushing. It seemed that she arrived only after Reno and Tseng had left with Aerith. No wonder her sister was pissed at her.

"In any case," The blonde continued. "Our job is to find out where Sephiroth and Sienna are headed and to try and stop you every step of the way." The blonde then looked away for a moment, thinking. "Wait a minute, it's the other way around…You're the ones that are getting in our way."

"Ah, so you are after Sephiroth and Sienna, hmm?" Jeanne crossed her arms with an amused look on her face. She enjoyed playing with people like this blonde. She also enjoyed making people like this Liana constantly mad.

"Elena, you talk too much." Everyone turned to see Tseng standing there, Jena behind him with her own arms crossed.

"You!" Claire pointed a finger at her, taking a step forward. "I want some answers from you!" But she was ignored for the moment.

"Mr. Tseng! Ms. Jena!" Elena looked surprised.

Liana lifted a hand and waved at them. "What's up?"

"There's no need to tell them our orders," Tseng told the blonde.

Elena lowered her head. "Sorry…Tseng."

"Didn't you have other orders?" Jena opened her eyes and shot looks at Elena, Liana, and Rude. "Go."

"Oh! Right!" Elena lightly slammed her fist into the palm of her other hand. "Very well. Rude, Liana, and I will go after Sephiroth, who's heading for Junon Harbor!"

Cloud watched as Jeanne and Jena both shared a pained look at the name of Junon. It didn't involve what was going on in the cave, either.

~What was that from?~ He asked himself.

"Oh, you idiot!" Liana sighed at the other woman as Rude and Tseng shook their heads.

"I'm, I'm sorry." Elena stumbled.

"Let's just go!" Liana grabbed the sleeves of the Turks on either side of her and pulled them down the path.

Rude glanced over his shoulder though and called back – "Reno said he wanted to see you after the injuries you gave him healed. He wants to show his affection for you all…with a new weapon." He gave Jeanne a look before turning back around to disappear with the two women.

"Well, then…" Tseng looked at them. "Where's Aerith? She's not with you?"

"Nope." Claire replied. "Sorry."

Tseng smirked. "Give her my regards." He turned and left. Jena went to follow him, but Claire's voice made her pause.

"Why are you working with ShinRa?" The Strife demanded. "Why are you against Jeanne? I thought that family was supposed to stick together!"

Jeanne shook her head. "Claire, stop it. It doesn't matter."

"No," Claire shook her friend's hand from her shoulder. "It does matter. It matters a lot! How come you're on their side?"

"There are several reasons why and none of them concern you so keep your nose out of personal affairs." The elder Rush sister told the twins with narrowed eyes. She glanced at Jeanne again before she turned and left the cave.

Jeanne sighed, letting out a breath of relief as the Strife twins could only stare at her. "What?" She asked.

"Aren't you going to tell us the reason?"

She shrugged. "My sister has a thing for the President's Son. That's the only reason I can come up with." She lied.

"That guy on the roof!" Cloud and Claire shared in surprise.

"The one and only." Jeanne shook her head as she followed after her sister.

They were the first ones out of the cave just in time to see the ShinRa helicopter fly off; headed towards Junon, no doubt. The three of them didn't have to wait too much longer for the others to come out of the cave themselves. Neither of them said anything about the Turks and continued on the path.

The plain only had a few sets of trees and it was the only place between the Fort Condor and Junon that had any shade. So they decided to take a quick break there after another hour or so of walking.

"Hey, Jeanne?" Claire stood over the woman in white that had sat at the base of a tree.

"What?"

"Would you mind if-"

"One, avoid unnecessary training!" They all froze in what they were doing and looked around for the owner of the voice. "Two, protect Wutai at all costs! Three, the ugly Shinra SOLDIER dude…must be punished!"

Jeanne sat up. "What?" Why was that so familiar to her? And what Shinra SOLDIER did they…?Jeanne's eyes fell of the clothes and Cloud and Claire were still wearing. Oh. That's why. She seriously needs to get the twins a new set of clothes. She was getting tired of the SOLDIER clothes, anyway. Jeanne stood to her feet and glanced at the form that stood before them all.

The woman was young, looking about 16 with short brown hair and dark brown eyes. She wore a white headband with a green, sleeveless turtleneck jumper and a pair of tan shorts. Over her left arm was a protective gauntlet, most like originated from a pauldron, over her shoulder for a shield, most likely. The large object was held in place by a strap tied around her back and across her chest. Typical ninja-mail mesh covered part of her right arm and left leg as well as an additional piece of armor which covered the rest of the thigh of that leg. She wore a smaller wrist-covering gauntlet on her right arm, both hands are covered with orange, fingerless gloves while she wears orange sneakers with white leg warmers. She held a large, 4-point-shuriken.

"Who are you?" Claire asked as they all just stared at her.

"I'm Wutai's greatest warrior! If you wanna go further, you have to go through me!"

"A kid…?" Cloud replied, exchanging a glance with his sister.

Jeanne's mouth fell open. "Oh…my…God…" She slapped a hand to her face. She remembered this one. Only one person she had ever met called herself the 'Greatest Wutai Warrior'. Was her Aunt here with her. She glanced around the forest. Nope, not that she could see. But perhaps…

"Tifa, Barret," Jeanne turned to look around the forest again. "Take care of her for me, would you please? But don't hurt her."

Barret mumbled something under his breath about 'taking orders' and Tifa just nodded with a smile. Moments later the large man mumbled something about 'too weak' as Tifa grinned happily at the teen that was now sprawled out on her back. It seemed that Renee Sivil was not with her niece anymore. Maybe she was still with that Highwind guy trying to make it to space. Did they even make it to space?

"Man…I can't believe I lost…" The teen jumped back to feet. "You spiky-headed jerk!" The young Ninja stomped her foot. "Let's go one more time!"

Cloud shook his head. "Not interested."

"You're pretty scared of me, huh!" The teen looked proud of herself.

The Strife twins shared an annoyed look. "…Petrified."

The teen grinned and then turned. "Hmm, just as I thought, What do you expect with my skills? Good luck to you guys too. If you feel up to it, we can go another round. Later!" She began to love away before turning back around. "I'm really gonna leave! Really!"

"Wait a second," Jeanne called to her, taking a step forward.

"What is it, you still have somethin' for me? I know you want my help because I'm so good! You want me to go with you?" The teen asked.

"That's right," Claire was trying to be sarcastic but the teen took it differently.

"Heh heh…thought so. You put me in a spot. Hmm, what should I do? But if you want me that bad, I can't refuse. All right!" She smiled. "I'll go with you."

Cloud didn't even want to ask what had just happened. He just wanted a shower and something to eat. "Let's hurry on!" He told them all, turning to lead the way.  
>"My name's-"<br>"Yuffie, right?" Jeanne smiled. "Yuffie Kisaragi?"

The teen looked quite surprised. "How…how do you know?"

Jeanne continued to grin. "You might not remember me, but we-"

"GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE BRAT!"

~Damn~ Jeanne quickly thought. ~The last time I was near Yuffie there was a certain man that said just that…OHMYGOD NO! It couldn't be!~She quickly turned around, Yuffie jumping behind her to hide, and saw a man now standing before her, leaning over to catch his breath. She felt tears leak over her eyes. ~It is…oh, this is bad~

With shaggy black hair, brown eyes, and a knight chess piece earring, the man was 6'3' in height and around the age of 24. The man was dressed in black boots and pants, a chain hanging from his belt loop and to his back pocket. In a white shirt and a black leather jacket, the man wore a leather strip tied around his throat several times with an Obsidian stone resting in his throat and a pair of fingerless, leather gloves.

There was only one man on this planet that looked so much like Zack…and that was his cousin; Zeke. Zeke Fair.

And he was like a twin to Zack, making Jeanne's heart ache.

"Ha!" Zeke straightened up and pointed a finger at Yuffie as she hid behind Jeanne; everyone else was invisible to him. "You thought that you'd get away this time now, didn't you, you little brat? But I got past all our traps and caught up to you! I didn't need that woman's help this time now did I? Now, GIVE ME BACK MY WALLET!"

"Never!" Yuffie cried back at him. "I need all that I can get my hands on for the Wutai Restoration!"

"I don't care about…" His eyes widened as he took notice of the woman that he hadn't seen in the last three years. "You…" He straightened, forgetting everything about what he had just been doing.

"It's been a while…Zeke." Jeanne whispered.

"You know this guy?" Tifa asked, looking the young man over.

Before Jeanne could answer, Zeke ran forward, grasped her by her jacket, and shook her. "Where the hell have you been! Where's my cousin! You excite my family like that and then run off together just to not see any of us in three years? What the hell is the matter with you!" Jeanne didn't move, but her smile was sadder than it had been. "Where is my cousin, dammit? Where is Zack!"

Claire frowned. ~That name again~ She thought. ~Who in the hell is this Zack guy? Why does he keep being brought back up?~

"Zeke," Jeanne tried to calm him down but the Buster Blade did that for her as its wielder held it to the side of the man's head.

"Let her go." Cloud's voice was cold, strong, and angry. "Now." Claire grabbed her own sword, ready to join her brother incase this new guy tried to pull anything.

"Keep your nose out of this," He turned to glare at the man but frowned when he took notice of the sword that was held at him. That was the blade his cousin had wielded, yet Zack wasn't holding it, was he? Lifting his eyes to land on the blonde twins. Surprise, surprise. "The two of you again? Why do you have Zack's sword?"

"I don't know anything about a Zack and this isn't his sword; it's mine and it always has been mine."

"What are you talking about?" Zeke took a step forward, fists clenched. "Listen here Punk, I'm gonna-"

"Zeke!" Jeanne's sharp voice made Fair turn and face her again. She held a warning glare on her face that told him to stay quiet as she turned back to Cloud and his sister. "Cloud, Claire, continue on top Junon. I would like a private talk with Zeke."

"You know this guy?" Cloud held an unsure look.

"Yeah, he's an old…friend," Jeanne replied. "Take the others and continue on to Junon. We'll be right behind you."

"Are you sure?" Barret asked, giving the man a glare himself.

"I'm sure." Red Xlll was the first to move and the others all followed him. "Tifa," Jeanne called after the other woman. She turned. "Stay. Introductions are to be made."

Tifa pulled a confused look. ~Why me?~ She asked herself as she stayed in place, watching the others walk off.

"Zeke, this is Tifa Lockhart. Tifa, this is Zeke Fair. He's Zack's cousin." Jeanne informed her. Tifa's eyes widened as she looked at the man. That's why he had been asking for Zack. Now that she thought about it, they did look a lot alike. "And he doesn't know anything about…what happened after we left Gongaga that…that day." Tifa nodded. She knew the whole tale of the proposal between Fair and Rush and everything afterwards. If Zeke didn't know…

"Look, I don't care who any of your little friends are," Zeke took another step towards Jeanne. "I want to know where Zack is! Are you going to Junon to meet up with him?"

Jeanne sighed. ~I wish~ She told herself. ~I really wish that was the reason~

**Poor Zeke! But, he's back! Were you all waiting on him to return since his moments in Crisis Core! He might seem like a Jerk at first(I mean come one, he just learns that Zack's been dead for three years) but he returns to his goofy side soon...hopefully...maybe...LOL :)**

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	15. Chapter 14

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Chapter Fourteen**

**The Truth**

"**Jena," **The woman turned at the sound of Elena calling her name; Liana was right behind them. "Was…was that really your sister?"

Jena sighed and continued down the streets of Junon. She had gotten used to being back in this city but sometimes it still brought back painful memories. "Yes it was," She finally answered.

"Why is she against you? Why isn't she on your side?" Liana asked. "Why is she our enemy?"

Jena paused in her steps as the two women stopped as well. She knew why, but…

"Jena," Tseng's voice came to his ex-partner's rescue. They turned to the Turk Leader as he stood by the nearest building to them, eyes closed and arms crossed "Rufus wants to see you and Liana. Elena, go find Rude."

"Me?" Liana asked. "Why me?" She thought aloud as she and Jena headed towards the office. Elena turned and quickly ran off to do what Tseng wanted her to do.

"We'll find out soon enough." Jena answered her. Things fell silent between them as they entered the office and knocked on Rufus' office.

"Come in," The man's voice called out. Jena opened the door and Liana walked in after her. The new President of ShinRa Inc. was sitting at his desk, packing things up in a briefcase. He glanced up at them and a small smile burst out across his face. "Ah, there you are." He closed the briefcase and sat down, folding his hands. "Liana, how has the job been so far?"

"Boring," The woman replied, crossing her arms. "There's been nothing to really do yet."

The man laughed. "Just like you isn't she, Jena?" He asked.

The woman in question shrugged. "We'll see."

"Indeed you will," He nodded. "Because the two of you are now official partners with Reno and Rude. After Reno is healed again then Elena will be partners with Tseng."

"What?" Jena asked in surprise. "I thought you were going to put me back as partners with Tseng?"

"I'm partners with Rude?" Liana looked shocked.

"Sort of," Rufus answered her first. "There will be some big tasks that all four of you will have to go on, others where just the two of you will take part in. It's just easier that way. And as for Tseng, having two newbies with Rude and Reno would be a bad idea. Reno would teach them his way of the Turks, leaving Rude with three, dare I say it, Renos and that is the worst thing you can give anyone in this world. So, you had to go with Reno and Rude again, Jena. If that annoys you then I can assign you to Tseng and Elena's group and leave Liana with Rude and Reno."

"No," Jena replied, calming her voice back to its emotionless drone. "It's fine with me." She turned to leave but then looked back. "Speaking of which, where is Reno?"

"Oh. He's running around somewhere, I'm sure." Rufus shook his head. "That man never can stay in one spot for too long." He waved them gone but as Liana walked away, Rufus called Jena back in. "I need you to be ready later this evening. I want you on the ship with me."

"Just me?" She asked.

"Liana can come as well. I want the two of you with me in case something happens on the way to Costa Del Sol."

"Are you sure?"

Rufus pulled a surprised look. "You normally don't questions my orders, Jen," He softly looked at her.

She looked away. "My apologies, President." She bowed her head.

"Oh, not this again," Rufus stood up at his desk. "I've told you before, Jena," He looked at her. "You don't have to call me that. You can address me anyway you want to. Even 'Jerk' if it makes you feel better."

She couldn't help but grin. "On the ship then, 'Jerk'?"

He smirked. "On the ship."

"**So, let me get this straight,"** Zeke now sat on a collapsed tree as Tifa sat beside him and Jeanne stood off to their right. "After everything with The Sexy Goddess Sienna and Sephiroth and after you came by Gongaga, you went after the Sexy Goddess' stalker and knocked him out of his obsession with destroying the world."

"Yes," Jeanne nodded. This was starting to sound like the last time that she had talked to Zeke. Didn't he call Sienna a 'Sexy Goddess' constantly last time, too?

"So he died, the two blond twins were still unconscious from the Mako addiction, the Sexy Goddess had yet to return and you went off back to Midgar to save your sister and a few others."

"Yeah," Tifa nodded. "That's what Jeanne told me.

"What in the hell is wrong with you!" Zeke stood up. "Why go back! You shouldn't have! You should have just sent a letter to them or something!"

"You don't think I know that?" Jeanne growled at him. "You don't think that I feel responsible for not being able to talk Zack out of it? I've blame myself for all of it! But at the time, neither of us was thinking about what would happen. We just wanted to get the ones we cared about out of Midgar and from ShinRa!"

"Yeah," Zeke snarled. "Good job on that one."

Jeanne scowled before turning her back on him as Tifa took a step in. "Please, don't be mad with her," She pleaded him. "I was at Nibelheim and I knew that they both cared. I've been around her for over a year now; Zack was very important. A part of her died that day and it can never be replaced. I know that if she could then she would go back and stop Zack from dying. Please, don't blame her."

Jeanne didn't care of he blamed her or not. He was not going to stand in her way of retrieving her revenge.

Zeke glanced at the woman's pleading eyes and sighed. "These twins…Cloud and Claire?...you say that they don't remember anything about Zack? About what happened?"

Jeanne shook her head. "None. Cloud thinks that he was in Zack's place and Claire thinks that she was a SOLDIER at the time. They don't know that they were just Infantrymen and yet they remember everything before they left for Midgar. It's the results of Hojo's experiments on us in Nibelheim those years ago. I would have told them already but…I fear what it could do to them. If they feared what had happened so much that they had to make themselves forget about it then forcing them to remember it could be just as bad."

Zeke scoffed before he stood. "And to think…I just thought that you and Zack had run off to live your own lives after the whole tidbit in Gongaga. To think that he's been dead for all these years…" He thought for a moment. "You say that ShinRa is behind this all, eh?"

"Yes," Jeanne nodded.

"Aren't they always?" Tifa grumbled.

Zeke smirked at that. "I might have to leave the Bone Village behind for a little longer, but my men can handle the job without me for a while." He locked eyes with Jeanne. "I'm coming with you. I want revenge for Zack and I'm going to get it." He held his hand out to her. "I want Hojo." He told her.

She smirked and grasped his hand. "First one to the finish line?"

He nodded. "Deal."

**Short, I know, but as said before: You know how I roll :)**

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	16. Chapter 15

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**I know it took so long for me to add another chapter and I'm sorry! Here's a LONG one just for that and I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for coming back to read guys and if this is your first time, welcome! :)**

**Chapter Fifteen**

**Return to Junon**

"**Damn,"** Jeanne looked around the town. "This looks nothing like what I remember." She shook her head.

"It's so…rundown." Red Xlll and Yuffie agreed.

"Poor people." Aerith shook her head.

"ShinRa's doing, once again." Zeke crossed his arms.

"Indeed." Cloud agreed.

"How are we going to get up to the city from this small village?" Claire turned to Jeanne. Jeanne didn't respond and just continued to walk down the road.

"Where the hell is she going?" Barret asked, staring after her.

Tifa shrugged. "Knowing her, just follow. She knows where she' going. She grew up here, after all."

"She grew up in Junon?" Claire asked in surprise.

"Yeah, didn't you know?" Tifa asked. "I figured she's told you before. You knew, right Cloud?"

"Yeah, I knew," The elder twin replied.

Claire pulled a face. ~How could I have forgotten that?~

"Well, that answer's my question on why she's such a moody-" Barret mumbled the rest as they followed the woman in white down a set of stairs.

There was a pillar in the ocean that held the Junon City about the small town, much like Midgar did to the slums, just much smaller. Jeanne was standing there, staring up at the pillar as she thought of a way to get up there, ignoring the child that stood in front of her, calling out into the water.

"Let's just get going," Zeke walked up beside her, arms crossed. "The sooner we get up there the sooner all of this is over with."

"Patience, grasshopper," Yuffie folded her arms peacefully. "One must learn to think before acting."

"Same to you," Jeanne gave the young teen a look. "I remember all about your thievery, Yuffie Kisaragi."

Yuffie scratched the back of her head as she stuck her tongue out cutely. Jeanne fought a smile. The young ninja was barely older than a child; only 16 by the looks of it.

It seemed that the child was ignoring them as well for the moment. "He-y! Mr. Dolphin!" The young girl in the pink bathing suit called out into the water. They all watched as a Dolphin swam up as close as it could to shore. The girl giggled happily. "My name is…Pri-scil-la!" the girl told it. "Now you say it."

The women all smiled; even Yuffie and Claire. Children were adorable sometimes. It seemed only now that the child noticed the group of people watching her. "Who are you guys? Are you members of ShinRa Inc.?"

"No!" Barret growled. "You got it all wrong! We're fighting against ShinRa!"

"Settle down Barret," Tifa moved forward and knelt in front of the child. "Don't scare her." She looked at Priscilla with a smile. "No, we're the good guys." Tifa told her.

The child frowned. "I don't believe you! Get out of here!" She ordered them, stomping her foot.

"Great," Cloud sighed.

Zeke opened his mouth to respond when he noticed something coming at them. "Oh great, a pain in my ass," He referred to the monster that flew towards them. The Dolphin swam off, Priscilla crying after it. The creature was a giant red and blue eel like creature with electricity sparking around it. The monster whipped around and its tail hit the child, knocking her back and against the rocks. She was out cold.

"Yuffie! Barret!" Jeanne cried over her shoulder. "Get the kid out of here. You others, stay back. I'll handle this."

"The hell you will," Zeke hurried up beside her. She looked surprised at the lance he held in his hand. It was dark blue with the image of a dragon wrapped around it. She figured that he would be using a sword like his cousin had. Why that mattered to her though, she didn't know. Turning back to the creature, she lunged forward, Zeke quickly following her.

Claire knew that Jeanne could take care of herself and so she turned to the child. "She's not breathing!" Tifa cried out fearfully.

"What do we do? What do we do?" She heard Yuffie cry.

"Watch out," Claire told them. They jumped out of her way and she knelt beside the child before beginning to administer CPR. Things were silent as she continued with her movements until…

"Priscilla!" A voice cried out. They turned to see an elder man come running down. The child began to breath. Claire turned her to the side as she coughed. "Priscilla, are you all right?" When the child didn't reply the elder grabbed her and began to carry her off.

"What the hell just happened?" Zeke asked.

The group all turned to see Jeanne and Zeke, their weapons either sheathed or hanging across their shoulder, staring after the man that ran off with the child.

"Well, that must be her grandfather or something. I guess he took her back home." Tifa answered.

"Was she breathing?" Jeanne asked.

"Yes," Aerith told her.

"Claire took care of that," Barret said, crossing his arms. He seemed a little upset that he couldn't think about giving the child CPR.

Jeanne gave the Strife and glanced and a smile before turning back to the stairs. They didn't know which house that Priscilla was carried to so they decided to wait outside in the middle of the town, waiting for find her. Jeanne wanted to make sure that the child would be okay before they continued on their path but the elder man wouldn't let them in; the child was resting.

"Hey," Jeanne turned to see another elder in a dress behind them, waving her hand. "Come here."

Things were silent for a while as the entire group joined the elder woman in her home. She was making tea for them at the moment. Jeanne watched from the corner of her eye as Cloud and Zeke continued to exchange annoyed looks with the other. Zeke being around the blond might be a problem in the future. The truth might come out…Jeanne would rather tell Cloud the truth herself. She might have to keep the two of them away from each other in the future.

"I heard what happened," The elder woman smiled as she set the tea down. "Thank you so much. If you're tired you can get some rest here, though there are not enough beds for you all."

"I appreciate your offering," Jeanne smiled at her. "But do you know how we can get to Upper Junon?"

The woman shook her head. "Unfortunately, no one outside of the city is allowed there for a few days."

"What do you mean?" Tifa and Claire asked.

"ShinRa has placed guards at the gates of the city. No one has been allowed inside for the last few days. They're planning something on ships and whatnot, though none of us know what just yet." She gave them a nod before leaving the house.

"Hmm…" Cloud scratched the back of his head. "There's nothing for us to do right now; it is nightfall, after all. Would should get some sleep and think of what to do in the morning."

Barret glanced at the beds. "There are only 4 beds so we'll have to take turns."

"That's fine," Jeanne stood from the table, slinging the bag back over her shoulders. "I'll be back later."

Barret frowned as she left the house. "What the hell is her problem?" He asked. "Her actions are making me rather afraid of what side she's truly on."

Zeke scoffed as he pushed himself off of the way. "Junon is where Jeanne and her sister Jena grew up before Sienna and Sephiroth took them in as their children. She grew up in the alleys in the Upper City, so forgive her if she doesn't like remembering the things that went through as a child."

Tifa sighed, watching as the young man followed out the house before glancing at the twins. The three of them shared a look before they each took a bed; the sooner they fell asleep the faster they would get to continuing on with the journey.

_**No more  
>I just can't live here<br>No more  
>I can't take it, can't take it<br>No more  
>What do we stand for<br>When we all live in fear**_

**The music was loud, making Jeanne rip her eyes away from the book in her hands. **The sun was rising. She had tried to fall asleep earlier, but nightmares decided to attack her so she just ignored it and placed her back against the house that they were currently staying at. She had been reading one of the books that Sienna had left her at Nibelheim, the scent of the Dragon fruit flowers floating all around her; it dragged her back to days at Sienna's home in Midgar. She missed those days. She missed a lot of things.

The others were all up, eating breakfast and traveling around the small town until Jeanne decided to tell them when to go. Everyone seemed to agree with the fact that Claire, Cloud, and Tifa had named Jeanne the 'Leader' of the group they were now in. Everyone but Aerith, anyway.

Those two women still did not get along to well, but Jeanne tried to stay away from her as much as she could. She was constantly talking to Cloud though. Jeanne felt very…annoyed. Especially as Cloud would laugh and enjoy talking with her. She was being foolish of course, but with what had happened with Zack, she couldn't help it.

Standing up, she put the book bag in her bag and made her way to the house Priscilla was inside. She was tired of staying here in the city. It was time to continue on with their journey.

"Doesn't it seem a little strange?" Tifa asked as they watched Jeanne enter the house. "Everything getting so noisy all of a sudden…"  
>"I heard that child from yesterday regained consciousness." Aerith told Cloud. "I hope that Jeanne doesn't make her grandfather angry."<p>

Barret had token notice of the music above them as well with a frown. "Seems like something's going on up there! Wonder what it is."

"Does this have something to do with ShinRa?" Red Xlll asked the large man.

Yuffie glanced at the blonde woman beside her. "What's this loud music? It's giving me a headache!"

"I agree," Claire claimed, gripping the side of her head. "I'm getting one too."

"The only one giving you head a headache is yourself." Cloud decided to tease his sister

"Hey!" The twin growled.

"Stop squalling!" Zeke cried, clutching his head as he closed his eyes. "I have a hangover!"

"That's your fault." Cloud's eyes narrowed. He still hadn't forgiven this guy for grabbing Jeanne like he had.

"Shut up, Chocobohead!" Zeke growled at the blonde man across from him. (LOL! Just for you, Loveless)

"All of you shut up!" Jeanne's voice made them all look up. She had left the house with Priscilla, the child, behind her.

"I'm glad to see that you're all right," Tifa smiled at the child.

Priscilla nodded. "I'm sorry that I mistook you for ShinRa members," The child shuffled her feet.

"That's all right," The Strife twins replied.

Priscilla grinned. "Just for that, I'll give you something SPECIAL!" She moved towards Zeke, the one closet to her and Jeanne. "It's an amulet. Take good care of it, okay?"

Zeke looked surprised. ~Why give it to me?~ He glanced down at the Materia he was taking from her and then smirked. It was Shiva. He heard tales of the Ice woman from the men that he worked with. He wondered just how good she was going to be.

"Thanks," He smiled, taking another look at the small, blue orb before placing it in his pocket. He would take care of it and put it in his bracelet with his Ifrit one later.

"What's that music?" Barret decided to ask the child. "It sure sound's lively."

"I heard they're rehearsing the reception for the new ShinRa President." Priscilla answered.

"Rufus!" Barret growled. "I gotta pay my respects." He claimed with an evil grin.

"Grandpa and Grandma told me this beach was beautiful when they were small," Priscilla said sadly. "But after ShinRa built that city above, the sun stopped shining here and the water got polluted." Her eyes then narrowed. "I was raised on that story and I hate ShinRa so much, I could die!"

"Do you think Rufus is thinking about crossing the ocean from here, too?" Aerith wondered.

"Does… does that mean Sephiroth and Sienna already crossed the ocean?" Claire looked at Jeanne.

"Wait a second," Red Xlll looked at Jeanne himself. "Didn't you finish Rufus off?" She shook her head silently, thinking.

"We gotta get to the town up there…Mebbe we could climb the tower?"

"And what?"Jeanne looked at him. "We can't attack Rufus with all the SOLDIERs and Infantrymen with him."

"Don't forget the Turks," Claire added.

"We'd have to stay unnoticed," Zeke crossed his arms. "If we can do that, we should be fine." His eyes narrowed. "We need to get to the Sexy Goddess and Sephiroth before ShinRa can."

"Sexy Goddess?" Everyone but Jeanne and Tifa asked.

They were ignored.

"No! No! There's a high voltage current running underneath the tower," Priscilla answered Barret's question. "Don't wonder near it, it's dangerous." She was silent for a moment. "But…you might be able to if Mr. Dolphin helps you…Follow me!" The child ran down the stairs again to the water.

"High voltage tower…" Tifa pondered. "I guess this mean's Cloud'll be all right."

"Yeah, better leave it to Cloud!" Aerith agreed with a smile.

"We're counting on you, Cloud." Red Xlll told him.

"Hey!" Cloud frowned, looking at them all.

"Have fun," Claire grinned at her brother ass Jeanne stayed silent.

"I sure as hell aren't going to let you do this," Zeke growled at the blond. "I'm going with you. You'll do something stupid, I know it."

Jeannne cupped her chin, her words knocking Cloud's angry reply to silence. "I don't like the thought of the two of you going together alone, but chancing three people could bring more unwanted attention. I can trust the two of you not to do anything foolish, right?" Her eyes were on Zeke more than they were on Cloud.

"Of course," The blond answered.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch. I won't do anything." Zeke turned to follow the girl.

"Be careful!" Tifa called after him. Cloud gave his sister and Jeanne a wave before following the other two.

They quickly found themselves on the shore again, Priscilla was waiting for them. "Wait a minute." She told them before blowing a whistle. They all watched as the Dolphin jumped out of the water, very high, before landing in the water again.

"Now, ain't that something! I have never seen a Dolphin jump like that!" They turned to see Barret standing behind them.

Priscilla grinned. "Pretty cool, huh? When I blow this whistle, Mr. Dolphin jumps for me. Here! This is for you, Cloud!" She held the whistle to him.

"A gift? What am I supposed to do with it?"

"Just go into the water, blow the whistle, and Mr. Dolphhin'll jump you to the top of the pole!"

"Jump to the top of the pole?" Zeke questioned.

"See that rod sticking out as the top? If you jump just right, you can climb to the top of the tower."

"Good luck," Barret grinned at the two of them. "If you make it, we'll follow you!"

Zeke gave him a look before groaning as he slipped into the freezing water. Cloud followed him. He felt strange as the Dolphin jumped under him. He gave out a shout as he flew through the air and he closed his eyes, his hands reaching out to grab the pole above them…just to fall back into the water. Breaking the surface and taking a deep breath as he glared at Cloud; the blond had grabbed the pole and was staring down at him.

"Don't you say a word, blondie," Zeke growled. He tried not to notice the smirk of Cloud's face as he repeated the actions, this time in success. They stayed in silence though as they climbed up the ladder to come face to face with the flying machine that was getting ready to take off. "Come on," Zeke led the way inside the closest building and they had to freeze ass Infantrymen were running past them in the hall.

"Eh! Ho!"

"The new President! He's here, he's here!"

"Hurry! Hurry!"

The three men in blue moved down the way and a man in red came to the two of them. Zeke began to curse, getting ready to call out his Lance to attack when the man shook his head. "Hey! You still dressed like that! Come 'ere!" He led them into the locker room, the blue outfits waiting on them. "Today's the big day when we welcome President Rufus! Hurry up and change!"

Zeke and Cloud shared a disliking look. Neither of them liked the thought of dressing as the Infantrymen and they both knew for a fact that the moment they were clear they would return back to what they were wearing at the moment.

"Wow! You both look good in it!" The man in red praised. "You remember the Greeting procedure, right?" The two of them glanced at each other as they both thought the same. ~Uh-oh~ "…The look on your face says you forgot. All right, I'll show you again."

Zeke bit his tongue to keep himself from speaking to the three men that were showing him and Cloud the 'dancing' that they were to perform in front of Rufus. This was embarrassing. He was suddenly glad that no one else but Cloud was with him. He knew from just the look on the blond's face that this part of their job was not going to be mentioned again anytime soon.

"All right, show time! Don't disgrace yourselves!" The Red man told them, leading the way down the hall.

Zeke gave Cloud another look. "When we're done with this, I need a drink."

Cloud gave a smile. "I think I'll join you in that."

The two of them soon found themselves in the large group that was heading down the streets. People looked out at them, waving from their windows and their streets. As they had too twirl their guns in the air, Zeke took notice of a few people in black suits.

The Turks.

Two of them were walking on either side of the car that carried another blond man. Zeke didn't need to think hard on whether or not the other blond was Rufus Shinra or not.

God, he was gonna drink so much that all of this was going to be repressed.

They soon came to a stop before Rufus and Heidegger as they stood there, watching the performance until it stopped.

Rufus looked at the man in front of him. "What happened to the Airship?"

Heidegger scratched his head. "The long range airship is still being prepared. It should be ready in three more days. Gya haa haa!" Zeke rolled his eyes at the laugh; it seemed that Cloud did, too.

"Even the Air Force's Gelnika?" Rufus sounded surprised. The man laughed again and Rufus took a step forward. "Stop that stupid horse laugh." Rufus ordered him. ~Jena was right~ the new President told himself. ~Both him and Scarlet are annoying~ "Things are different than when father was in charge." Heidegger looked very shocked before his laughter fell. Rufus took a few more steps back. "Is the ship ready?"

The other man nodded. "Yes Sir, we'll get it ready quickly."

Rufus nodded before climbing up the ladder. Heidegger ran over and began to hit one of the men beside Zeke and Cloud; both of them had moved out of the way, trying not to hit the large, annoying man as he then ran to join Rufus and the elevator they had both jumped into left, heading towards the ship that they would be taking.

Where would they be going though?

"What a disaster." One of the blue claimed as they gathered into a circle.

"Heidegger was really irritated…"

"The two forms in the Black Capes have been roaming the city, but we can't find them."

"The two in Black Capes?" Cloud asked.

~Sienna and Sephiroth, right?~ Zeke wondered.

"The two of them showed up two or three days ago and killed a few of our SOLDIERs." A man told them. "They then disappeared right after that. There's a rumor going around that it was Sephiroth and Sienna."

"Attention!" The man in red decided to break their conversation. "Dismissed!"

Everyone else ran off but the man in red stopped Cloud and Zeke. "Hey! You two! You messing with the army?"

"What if we are?" Cloud asked.

"You're too lazy!" The man claimed. "No break for either of you! Follow me!" Zeke and Cloud had to follow the man back to the locker room that they had changed in. "This is the military, soldier! Your orders for today are to send off President Rufus at the dock!" The man then smirked. "I'll keep drilling you until it's time!"

Zeke felt his patience wearing thin and was glad that they were finally making their way towards the ship that Rufus was going to board. He had to admit that he was rather happy when he noticed that the group running in front of them was the ones that they were waiting on.

"About time you arrived!" Zeke growled silently as he ran beside Tifa. She was dressed up in blue like he was. Barret, Red Xlll, and Yuffie were the only ones not in blue; Barret and Yuffie were sailors and Red Xlll…well…he couldn't wear clothes as he ran. How they were going to hide him, he didn't know yet but he was sure that they would think of a way.

"I see that you haven't been noticed yet." The woman replied, still staring ahead a she moved.

"No we haven't."

"I can see that you've been practicing dancing, too." She grinned.

Zeke pulled a face. "How the hell did you know that?"

Tifa gave a giggle."I didn't. Thanks for telling me."

Zeke opened his mouth to respond but closed it again, not thinking of what to say as a blush crept up on his cheeks. Tifa continued to giggle and he dropped back, a frown on his face as his cheeks were still red.

The others all ran onto the ship leaving Cloud and Zeke outside to dance again.

"All right, it's time!" The man in red announced as everyone got inline. "Ten…HUT!"

"President Rufus…has now arrived!" Zeke and Cloud watched as four people walked out towards them. Rufus, Heidegger, and two Turks. It was the two Turks that Cloud had seen in the cave. Jena and Liana.

"This is it! Junon Military Reception-! Do it right- Do it with enthusiasm…! Ready…!"

Zeke couldn't help but feel miserable as Jena's eyes stared at him. There was something about the way that she was looking at him, the small smirk on his face. He knew it. He could tell that this woman knew who he was. After all, the two of them had met before. And yet, she didn't say anything. Why she was keeping his invasion a secret, he didn't know.

"Well done." Rufus said as he took a step forward. "Keep up the good work for ShinRa Inc." He then turned to board the ship but paused, looking at the three behind him. "Once the word gets out that Sephiroth's here, Jeanne and her friends will show up, too."

"We'll crush them as soon as we find them!" Heidegger claimed.

Jena gave a snort. "Jeanne will knock you out of her way. Don't fool Reno's wounds. If Jeanne had fought him, I doubt that he'd be able to move after three days."

Rufus gave her a look. "We can't have them get in our way."

Heidegger gave the Turk a glare as the other one gave a laugh at her teacher. "Leave it to me, sir!" All three of them frowned as the man gave off his laugh again.

"I thought I told you to stop that stupid laugh…" Rufus growled. It halted as the new President turned and boarded the ship.

Jena gave Zeke another glance, her eyes full of mischief before she turned to the man in green. "Do keep from living, Heidegger. My sister will gladly take care of getting rid of you." The blue-haired woman gave a laugh at her teacher as she uncrossed her arms.

"Let's go, Jena." The two women began to walk away. "So, just how strong is your sister?"

"Jeanne and her partner Zack were 1st Class SOLDIERs before…"

~Partners?~ Cloud thought to himself. ~What the hell is she talking about? Jeanne wasn't made a 1st Class until she was partners with me and Claire! And just who the hell is this Zack guy? Why does he keep coming into the picture?~ He glanced at the man beside him.

Zeke frowned, lowering his gave to the road beneath him. ~Zack…~

"All right! Dismissed!" The man in red told them.

"That was close." Zeke sighed.

"Indeed," The other man with him and Cloud seemed to think that he was talking about being hit by the man in green. "Heidegger's been really edgy lately. But that's because Hojo disappeared, leaving a letter of resignation."

"Hojo's left ShinRa?" Zeke demanded.

"Yeah, and Heidegger's been forced to take care of that investigation, too."

"Hey! I thought you were dismissed!" The man in red broke their conversation. "We got some cleaning p to do! Hurry up!"

The men all took off, but Cloud and Zeke jumped onto the ship. Claire was waiting for her brother, Tifa with her. Cloud sighed as he set his gun down.

"We'll cross the ocean, to the other continent." Cloud told them. "Even if we are wearing Infantrymen uniforms we'd better be careful, understand?"

"Got it." Claire and Tifa nodded before the four of them separated from the others. Zeke glanced around at all the supplies around him and then began to search through.

Someone would have brought alcohol onto the ship, right?

**Whoo! Long, right? Hope you enjoyed it! **

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	17. Chapter 16

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Chapter Sixteen**

**Surprise on the Ship**

**Cloud was checking up on everyone in silence as he moved around the ship. **Yuffie was sick. She seemed to not like ships and so Aerith had decided to stay behind in the back of the ship to take care of her. Claire was off somewhere, helping Red Xlll disguise himself in the blue uniform. It was surprising that he could stand on his hind legs. Zeke and Tifa were busy 'working' up on one of the high levels. Barret was looking into the front of the ship, watching the enemy speaking and Jeanne…Jeanne was talking to her sister.

~Wait! Her sister!~

Whipping back around from what he was going to say to Barret, Cloud's mouth dropped open at the sight of the two women on the bow of the ship. Jeanne was still dressed in the uniform that she had been placed in and Jena stood there with her arms crossed; like always.

Taking a worried step forward, Cloud got as close as he could without being noticed.

"So, just what are you doing on this ship?" Jena was asking. "Why join ShinRa?"

Jeanne, still hidden, smiled. "Who doesn't want to join ShinRa?"

"Seriously; why?"

"I joined to try and become strong. My family is involved with foul things and I came to grow stronger so that I could save them when the time comes to it."

Cloud gave a sigh of relief. Jena didn't know that she was talking to her sister. That was good. With a sigh, he turned to walk back to his sister but Barret caught him.

"Look, Cloud." The large man glanced at the blond man beside him before turning back to the two men that were standing in behind the window. "It's Rufus and Heidegger. They're this close but we can't do a thing to 'em…" The man sighed before they watched Heidegger move around and talk to Rufus. Rufus just ignored him and stared out the window. Barret began to growl before turning from the window. "God! I can't take it anymore!" He clenched his fist. "I'm gonna settle things here and now…"

Barret turned to move back to the window but a voice cut them off.

"EMERGENY ALERT! REPORTS OF SUSPICIOUS CHARACTERS FOUND! THOSE NOT ON DETAIL, SEARCH THE SHIP! REPORT WHEN FOUND! I REPEAT. SUSPICIOUS CHARACTERS FOUND ON BOARD! THOSE NOT ON DETAIL, SEARCH THE SHIP. REPORT WHEN FOUND!"

"Damn, did they find us!" Barret demanded. "Hey, that don't seem like us. Do they mean…Tifa and the others!"

Cloud immediately turned to Jeanne and Jena by the front railings. Both women were looking around in confusion. A few more words were exchanged between them before the sisters moved together. Jena went her own way to find Rufus and Liana, no doubt, and Jeanne went below deck.

Cloud let out a breath of relief.

"Get off your spikey butt and let's go, Cloud!" Barret brought Cloud back to the man that he had been talking to. The blond nodded and then hurried towards the center of the ship. Everyone else of their little group had gathered around on the back of the dock of the ship; the rest of the crew seemed to be below deck, searching.

"Everyone all right?" Tifa and Barret asked together.

"Huh?" Aerith pulled a face.

"Everyone's here…right?" Jeanne glanced around, counting them all.

"Hey, wait," Barret thought. "You don't think those suspicious characters could be…Sienna and Sephiroth!"

Jeanne turned and looked down at the stairs that led below deck.

"Really?" Tifa sounded surprised.

"How the hell am I supposed to know!" The black man growled.

"Let's find out." Cloud said, but he didn't need to. Jeanne was already moving, heading down below deck. Everyone exchanged looks. Cloud and Claire immediately took after the woman; the others stayed behind, acting as though they were looking over the rest of the ship.

Jeanne was no longer dressed in the Infantryman clothes, as neither were the twins. At the sight if the SOLDIER clothes still, she had to make another reminder to get them extra clothes at the next city they make it to.

The man that were below before were now strung out across the floor, either knocked out or dead. Jeanne looked around and found the only door that they hadn't been allowed through. In silence the three of them moved to it immediately and Cloud kicked it open. Several other men were lying across this room too but the trio's attention was caught by the form in red that was standing before the back of the room in front of some kind of box.

Cloud stepped forward first before Jeanne could say anything. "Is it…you, Sephiroth?" The form turned before falling to the ground. It was just another crewmember. "No…not Sephiroth!"

"…After a long sleep…" Jeanne stood rigid. She'd recognize that voice anywhere. "The time…time has…come…"

"Cloud!" Claire pointed ahead of them as two bodies seem to materialize out of the floor.

The first figure that Jeanne concentrated on was the taller of the two. Great relief flooded through her at the realization that he was still alive, but anger and hate filled her as well. At 6'1' in height, the man was dressed head to foot in black leather with silver pauldrons. His chest was bare covered with crossing leather straps. His hair was long and silver, reaching nearly to his ankles and his eyes were a cat-like green with leather gloves on his hands.

The woman at his side was at 5'11' with long black hair to her waist and matching, cat-like eyes. She was also dressed head to foot in black leather and the jacket covered all but the crest of the grey top she wore. A pair of crystal earrings hung from her ears and a pair of black gloves were on her hands. Strapped across her back was a black container.

"Sienna!" Jeanne cried out, taking a step forward. "Sephiroth!" She went to move again but Cloud threw his arm out in front of her. She looked at the foul look he wore in surprise.

"You're alive." He plainly stated.

Sephiroth looked at the two blonds for a moment. "…Who are you?"

"You don't remember me!" Cloud sounded appalled. "I'm Cloud!"

"Cloud?" He and Sienna shared a look.

Sienna shrugged with that smile of her. "Sorry," She didn't sound it though as her eyes landed on the woman beside him. "But I do know you." Her smile grew larger and seemed to be more villainous.

"What are the two of you thinking!" Claire demanded as she took a step forward herself. Talk about hurt; neither of the two of them remembered her or her brother. But they remembered Jeanne. Why her and not them? "What are you doing?"

Sephiroth turned from them and looked at Sienna. "The time…is now." Sienna nodded and held out her hand.

"What are you talking abo-" Cloud and Claire were both knocked out of the way as Jeanne dove into them, knocking them to the floor moments before ice was shot at them. Rolling over, Jeanne watched as the previous, two 1st Class SOLDIERs shot through the ceiling, disappearing and leaving them something to have fun with.

Jeanne pushed herself to her feet. That had been Sienna! And Sephiroth! They were both still alive! She felt several things at that moment. Relieved, thankful, and still mad. Mad at the two of them for all that happened all those years ago.

That was normal, right?

Claire frowned, tilting her head to the side as all three of them looked at the large, white creature that they had been left. "You know, I'm going to have to start naming these things because I'm getting tired of just calling all these things 'it'." She quickly thought. "I know! I'll name it…Jenova-Birth!"

Jeanne and Cloud both paused for a moment as they drew out their swords. "Jenova-Birth?" Jeanne asked. "That's the best that you could think of?"

Claire flushed. I, uh, oh, shut up!" She growled, drawing her own sword. Cloud and Jeanne shared a smirk before they turned back to the white creature.

Jenova-Birth was down in seconds, thanks to Cloud and his Cross-Slash attack. The creature had melted away into an arm…an arm that Jeanne recognized off of Jenova. What the hell was going on?

"Well, that's something that I want see." Claire decided to take her sword and poked at it. It moved and she screamed, leaping up on Cloud's back.

"It's Jenova's arm," Cloud seemed to be able to recognize it as well.

"Sephiroth and Sienna took Jenova with them…what could they be planning?" Jeanne asked herself rather than aloud.

"So it WAS Sephiroth and Sienna," Cloud looked at her. "I wasn't just imagining it."

Claire gave her a DiNozzo.(Come on you gotta love the Gibbs slap, lol) "Don't be stupid, Cloud. Of course it was! And Sephiroth was mumbling something about time!"

"Time…is now…" Jeanne repeated the man's words. "There's something much bigger going on here than Sephiroth and Sienna's hate for ShinRa. We're not getting the whole picture."

Cloud nodded and tilted his head back as he spoke. "Sephiroth and Sienna went off searching for the Promised Land, so they could become the rulers of the planet…That was five years ago." Jeanne flinched and hid her face. Hearing him say something that he didn't even know was a lie was killing her. "Then they came back and killed President Shinra." Ok, that wasn't a lie. "And just now, the three of us saw them. They had Jenova."

"That had to be what was in the case that Sienna had on her back." Claire commented. The two others nodded in agreement. "Jenova's supposed to be Sephiroth's mother…and the two of them announced that they want to go to the Promised Land. I guess that's about it."

"DOCK WORKERS - WE WILL BE DOCKING IN COSTA DEL SOL IN FIVE MINUTES. PREPARE FOR DOCKING."

~Oh God,~ Jeanne ran a frustrated hand through her hair. ~Do they have the drag me through the towns and cities that has the hardest moments of Zack in life? Next thing you know, I'll find myself in Gongaga again and talking to his parents!~ (EPIC FORESHADOWING lol)

The thought of the last time that she and Zack were in Costa Del Sol made her smile. That was when the two of them and Reno had to cause a distraction so Sienna could go down below into the files and grab something that she had been refused. She knew that it was just an act, but still…have Zack fight some other guy off of her was…it was a wonderful feeling.

"I think we should get off here," Claire told Jeanne. "We might get caught if we stay on this ship any longer."

Cloud nodded his head in agreement. "Let's go."

Claire was out first and Jeanne followed after her but paused at Cloud's low voice. "Sephiroth and Sienna are alive," He whispered behind her. "The Promised Land…Does it really exist?"

_**~I didn't know you were a fake  
>Every lie straight to my face<br>So blind I could not see  
>Right behind my back you stabbed me<br>Should've know you were a bitch  
>Shut up you're making me sick<br>Little man you're nothing like me  
>Lying cheating so deceiving<br>I trusted you broke me down  
>And you screwed me over~<strong>_

"**Damn! It sure is hot here!"** Barret cursed. Jeanne had to agree. She had to take her jacket off and pulled her hair up off of the back of her neck. The sun felt good on her skin though, and the white feather in her hair still hung by her face. "But I sure feel better now that I can say good-bye to this sailor suit." The man added.

"I hear you on that one," Zeke told the man beside him as he tossed the hat off his head. "I am never wearing stuff like that again."

"Amen." Barret nodded and then turned to the others. "Yo listen up! Ya'll be sure to mingle like regular folks here!"

"Oh, too bad," Aerith grinned. "I liked Barret's sailor suit. He looked so cute."

Barret turned to her. "…What'ya mean 'cute'?"

Tifa decided to put a stop to that right then and there. "Right…well, uh…Barret, why don't you use that sailor suit for pajamas?" She turned to Cloud. "Right Cloud?"

Claire and Barret might argue every now and then but the woman still felt sorry for the man.

"Keep your mind on Sephiroth and Sienna," Cloud scowled at them. "This isn't a vacation." He turned and began to walk away. "I'm going on ahead."

Barret scoffed. "Hmph, you're the one who's always hanging around and wasting time." Barret turned. "I'm going to skip this resort!"

Cloud opened his mouth but Red Xlll jumped in with a growl. "Would you kindly hurry? The heat here is drying my nose!"

"Yeah, mine, too!" Yuffie agreed.

Cloud didn't look like he wanted to stop in the journey so Jeanne decided to step in. "We'll spend the night," She told them all, turning to walk forward. "And take off again in the morning."

No one decided to argue with her and they followed her as she led the way into the small beach-town.

**Jena leaned down on the railing of the ship, watching as her sister led her little group off into the town.** She had known that the sailor she had been talking to was her sister the entire time. It was funny, because Jeanne knew that she knew but neither of them did anything about it. It would have caused such a havoc on the ship so she was glad that neither of them said anything.

Besides, it was nice, talking to her sister again.

"Jena," The woman turned and saw Liana behind her with crossed arms and a serious look as the golden streaks in her hair glowed in the sun. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Say anything to what?" Jena leaned back onto the railings backwards this time, watching her partner with a smile.

"I know that the woman you were talking to was your sister. That feather she wears in her hair was clearly in view. I'm surprised that Rufus or Heidegger didn't see it."

Jena continued to smile. "Yeah, so?" She glanced over her shoulder.

"She's the enemy, Jena. She might be your sister, but-"

"That's right," Jena straightened up, the smile whipped from her face now. "A sister that I haven't heard from in seven years. Forgive me if I'd like to talk to her."

Liana sighed and thought for a moment before opening her mouth to respond before another voice cut her off.

"Jena," Both women turned to Rufus. "Let's go." Both shared a look before following the new president and Heidegger off the ship. The Helicopter was just landing as the four of them

"Hmmm…Good work everyone," Rufus told the crew that were lined up before them, talking about how long the boat-ride was. Jena shuddered at Heidegger's laugh as he told the helicopter to hurry up and land.

"I heard that Sephiroth and Sienna were on board." Rufus commented.

"Yes," The other man replied.

"And it seems that Jeanne and the others were on board, too." Rufus gave the two women a look. Jena sighed. She wasn't going to say a thing and she could trust Liana to keep her mouth shut too, right?

"Yes…" The other man answered again.

Rufus turned on him, eyes narrowed. "They all slipped through…You messed up big this time, Heidegger."

The large man began to shake, hanging his head. "I'm ashamed of myself."

"Is that all you can do?" Rufus' voice was full of disgust. "Give one word answers and apologize for everything?"

"Ready for departure, sir!" A man called to them. Jena and Liana headed towards the helicopter with Rufus following as he called back – "Do something. I'll be expecting results."

Liana kept quiet though as the three of them were in the helicopter. Rufus was lost in thoughts as Jena stared out the window for almost an hour before Rufus pulled a smile and looked at the two women.

"I'm going to switch up your assignments and little bit," He announced.

Both women looked at him. "What?" Liana asked.

"I've got different things that I want the two of you to do." He explained.

"What kind of things?" Jena leaned forward. Rufus smiled.

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	18. Chapter 17

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Chapter Seventeen**

**Barret's Past Part 1**

**Barret had been acting strange all day, and when they finally reached their next destination, Jeanne knew why. **North Corel was a small, abandoned and rundown city. All stores and homes were just tents or ruined houses. Sand and dirt and rocks were all there, no trees or grass or anything; not even water. Claire looked around with a sad face as Tifa mimed her.

Barret held his own look, but his was in pain. Especially as three men walked forward and one of them punched him in the face.

"Well, lookey here!" The man's friend sounded foul. "Never thought I'd ever see your face again. They kick you out of another town or something? You destroy everything you touch."

"You got a lot of balls comin' back here! Look at this place! It's all your fault North Corel turned into a garbage heap!" Barret just stared at the ground as Jeanne held an arm out to hold the others behind her. This wasn't something that they should interfere in. "Why doncha say something! Or did ya forget what you done here already?"

"…I'm sorry." The large man sounded so sincere, too but the men didn't want to hear it.

"^%$#! You ain't even worth the effort." The man turned to the ones beside him. "Don't waste your time talking to that Techno-freak!" They all stalked off and Claire raised an eyebrow.

"What the hell was that all about?" She asked.

Barret sighed, his head lowering. "You heard 'em…It's my fault this town was…destroyed…" They all then watched as Barret ran off. Aerith, Tifa, and Claire ran off after him, leaving Jeanne with the others.

"The man sure does cry a lot," Zeke scoffed, crossing his arms.

"Yeah," Yuffie stepped past him. "And you're a jerk."

"Coming from the stupid thief." He moved after her.

"I'm not stupid!"

"Oh, so you don't deny that you're a thief?"

"Nope!" She grinned.

Jeanne couldn't help but grin as Zeke paused for a moment in surprise before smirking himself. He patted Yuffie on the head. "Perhaps there's hope for you yet."

Yuffie knocked his hand away with a blush. She hadn't had someone pat her head like that since the last time she had seen her Auntie. As a matter of fact, she hadn't seen her Aunt in years. She would have to find her again soon! (Don't worry guys, Renee will be back soon!)

They found the others all hanging outside the car that would take them to the Gold Saucer. Jeanne had heard stories about this being a casino-like place with lots of games and plays and whatnot, but she wasn't too sure.

"Barret," Aerith was asking. "What happened?"

"Sorry," He couldn't look any of them in the face.

"What happened?" Claire repeated.

"My hometown used to be around here," Barret began.

"What do you mean 'used to'?" Red Xlll and Jeanne asked together.

"It ain't here no more. Heard it got buried…in just four years."

"But how could those people say those horrible things?" Aerith asked him.

Barret seemed to not here her. "And it's my fault. ALL my fault." He gripped his head as he fell back into his memories.

_**~My hometown, Corel's always been a coalmining town…It's so dusty, but calm and so poor…A real small town, this one. That's the first time I ever heard the word 'Mako Reactor' mentioned since that time…~**_

_Barret and his friend, Dyne, were sitting in a house before Scarlet, a woman from ShinRa, and a few men with her while miners from the town, their friends, were there as well. Dyne was sitting on the cough, his blue hair gripped in his hands._

"_What are we going to do? The only one against this is Dyne…" The Village Headman sighed._

_The blue-haired man stood up. "I am definitely against it, no matter what. There's nothing to talk about if you're thinking of throwing away our coal!" He growled. "Our coal's been protected for generations. Our Father's and their before them, risked their lives for it! We have no right to throw it all away so easily!"_

_Barret took a step forward. "But listen, Dyne. No one uses coal nowadays. It's the sign of the times."_

"_Right," Scarlet said. "Everything is Mako, now. It'll be all right, Dyne. ShinRa Inc. will guarantee your livelihood once the Mako Reactor is completed."_

"_Listen, Dyne." Barret's next words completely made Scarlet's words ignored. "I don't want my wife, Myrna, to suffer anymore."_

"_I know how you feel! I feel the same way too, dammit! But even so, I won't give away our coal mines!"_

_The Headman shook his head. "Dyne…you've got to understand."_

_Dyne gave the elder man a look before sitting back down on the couch and gripping his hair once more._

_**~That's how the Corel Reactor was built…and completed. We all thought it would bring us an easier life…It happened when Dyne and I were out of town for a few days. Corel was burned down by the ShinRa troops. All the townspeople…All my relatives…Everyone…Everything…~**_

Cloud shook his head at the story and walked towards the large blue cart that would take them up to the Gold Saucer.

"ShinRa troops? What for?" His sister asked.

"There was an explosion at a reactor. ShinRa blamed the accident on the people. Said it was done by a rebel faction." Barret answered.

"That's so terrible!"Tifa gasped.

"Well, I guess that's true. But more than Shinra, I couldn't forgive myself." Barret sighed. "Never should've gone along with the building of the reactor."

~Well,~ Jeanne crossed her arms. ~At least I now know why he hates ShinRa so much.~

"Don't blame yourself." Tifa told her friend. "We were all fooled by the promises ShinRa made back then."

"That's why…that' why I get so pissed off!" Barret growled. "Not only did they take advantage of me…but I lost my wife, Myrna, too…"

Jeanne dropped her arms slowly and place a firm hand on the man's shoulder. She and Jack hadn't been married but…but she understood how he felt.

"Hey everyone!" A woman called from behind them. "If you want to go to the 'Gold Saucer', then hurry and get on!"

"Then let's hurry up and go," Zeke stepped onto the cart. "I wanna sleep in an actual bed tonight after a bath and a big dinner."

Tifa giggled and stepped on after him, leaving the others to file on after them. Jeanne and Claire shared a look before they both stepped onto the cart as well to sit in an awkward silence as they headed for the large construction above them.

Zeke frowned as he took a step off of the cart, taking in the lively music and the balloons and light and everything else. He frowned even more so at the man that was running around in the Chocobo outfit.

"Wow, I do not envy that guy's job." Cloud told Jeanne.

She smiled. "Nor do I."

"Welcome to the Gold Saucer," The woman grinned. "Are you all together? A single Pass is 3000 gil or you can purchase a lifetime pass for 30000 gil."

Claire's mouth dropped open. "Are you crazy? 3000 gil for one person! That's such a rip off! There's no way this place is that good!"

"Uh," Tifa gave a flush. "Claire, I think that she meant 3000 for all of us together."

The blonde looked at the woman, who was nodding her head, and gave a blush as she took a step back. "My mistake." she mumbled.

(Her and Kakuzu from Naruto would get along just fine, though I doubt Kakuzu would pay even after that, lol)

Stepping forward with the sack that held their money, Jeanne reached inside and handing it all over. "Thank you very much," The woman smiled at Jeanne. "Unfortunately, if you leave Gold Saucer, your tickets become invalid. Here at the Gold Saucer, there are many places where you must pay with GP. Just think of 'GP' as money that you can only use at the Gould Saucer. GP can only be redeemed at the Games in Wonder Square and at the Chocobo Races. Your GP limit is 10000, so please be careful." She grinned again. "Please enjoy yourselves."

Jeanne gave a nod and led the way through the gate in the large room. There was multiple circles in the floor, each leading off into separate sections of the Gold Saucer.

"Wow! Let's have fun!" Aerith giggled, looking at the map of the place as they stood in the circle. Jeanne felt like this was a place for little kids so she doubted that she was going to enjoy being here. It seemed that Jeanne wasn't the only one that felt like this was a bad idea and Aerith noticed it. "I know this isn't the right time to do this," She sighed and walked towards the large man. "Hey, Barret, cheer up!"

"…I ain't in no cheery mood, so jes' leave me alone." Barret replied, glancing away from her.

"Really? That's too bad 'cause-"

"Just leave him alone," Jeanne's shout made them all jump and look at the woman that was shrugging back into her white jacket. "He'll cheer up when he wants too. Sometimes, people just need to be alone to do so." Aerith turned away shamefully as Barret gave Jeanne an appreciative glance before moving down and jumping into the hole that read 'Wonder Squares'.

"Let's go!" Aerith grinned, grabbing Cloud's hand.

"Actually," Claire moved up to her brother's other side. "Cloud and I have to talk about something before I let him go off and play, if that's all right."

Cloud raised an eyebrow as Aerith gave a small, disappointed smile. "All right. I'll just catch him next time." She waved and moved over to grab Yuffie and Red Xlll. The three of them went through the hole that read 'Chocobo Squares.'

Tifa gave a grin to Zeke. "Let's go grab something to eat!" She told him, grasping his hand. "What do you feel like?"

"Anything that doesn't have mushrooms in it. I want a nice, thick, greasy-ass bacon and cheese covered burger and some fires with a coke or a beer or something!"

"Oh, that sounds really good right about now!" She grinned.

And they jumped through the hole that read 'Event Square.'

Claire gave a sigh of relief before turning to Jeanne. "Are you going to come with us?"

Jeanne gave them a glance. She didn't really like the thought of moving around through all here, but she shrugged. "Why not?" She glanced at Cloud. "Where would you like to go first? Before I settle down and head for the Inn?"

Cloud thought for a moment, looking at the holes in the floor before giving a small smile to the two women. Through the 'Speed Square' they went.

On the other side, the first thing that Jeanne noticed was a speedo-wearing, muscled man standing right in front of them as people were moving up and down the stairs around them. Jeanne tried to move past the man but it seemed that he took notice of them.

"Hey!" The three of them turned to the man, Jeanne fighting her groan as she kept her eyes from straying. "How is it? You having fun?"

"Not sure yet;" Claire answered. "We just got here, so…"

But the man didn't seem to hear her. "So you ARE having fun. Well, good, good for you."

"Who are you?" Cloud asked, crossing his arms.

"Me? I'm the owner of the Gold Saucer. The name's Dio." The man went silent, thinking for a second. "By the way, do either of you know what a 'Black Materia' is?"

Jeanne frowned. "What makes you ask that?"

"Well, a while back, a boy your age came in and asked me if I had a 'Black Materia'. I thought you might know who he was, seein' as how you're both about the same age.

"Did he happen to have…a Black Cape…?" Cloud asked.

"Why yes, yes indeed. And a tattoo on his hand that said '1'." Dio nodded.

"Was there a woman with him?" Claire demanded.

"No, there wasn't anyone with him." The man replied.

Jeanne squeezed the bridge of her nose as Claire sighed and Cloud continued asking the man questions. If Sienna wasn't with him, then it wasn't Sephiroth. The two of them rarely went anywhere without the other and since they were free to go places on their own they wouldn't leave the other. Not after what happened. Sephiroth wouldn't let Sienna out of his sight for a moment; just in case.

"I say, stop by the Battle Arena if you like. You'll probably like it. Many of my collections are on display there." The speedo-man walked off laughing.

Claire pulled a face. "That man's worse than Barret."

Jeanne pulled her own face and continued on walking forward through another hole in the wall. They found themselves in the Wonder Circle.

The first thing that happened was a cat on the bag a large, stuffed moogle, hopped towards them. Jeanne's eyes narrowed a bit. She recognized that cat, but she couldn't name it from where.

"What are the three of you looking so down for?" The cat asked.

"We're not down." Cloud replied with a frown.

"Come on! I bet if I read your fortune you would feel better! A bright future! A happy future! Oh, but don't hold it against me if it's not a great prediction!" Then the cat quickly added. "Oh, so sorry! I'm a fortune telling machine. The name's Cait Sith!"

Jeanne still stared at the cat, Cloud continued to frown, and Claire slapped her brother's arm. "You can only read the future?" The young man asked.

"You kidding! I can find missing things, missing people, anything!"

"Then can you tell me where a man and woman named Sephiroth and Sienna are?" Cloud asked.

"Sephiroth and Sienna, right! Okay," The cat took a breath. "Here goes!"

The machine gave a little dance before pausing. "…Ordinary luck. It will be an active fortune. Give into the good will of others, and something big'll happen after summer….Wait…what's this?" The Cat frowned as did the twins. "Let me try again." Jeanne watched as he did another dance. "Be careful of forgetfulness. Your lucky color is…blue?"

"Forget it." Cloud sighed, turning to move away.

"Wait, wait, give me another chance! Let me try again!" Cait Sith cried, hopping after the blond man.

Cloud turned and took the card that the cat was handing to him. "What the-?"

"What's it say?" Claire asked her brother, trying to look over his shoulder.

"'What you pursue will be yours. But you will lose something dear." Jeanne glanced up at the three standing before her.

"I don't know if it's good OR bad…" Cait Sith mumbled. "That's the first time I ever got something like THIS." He paused and thought for a moment. "Then shall we?"

"Shall we what?" Jeanne asked the cat.

"As a fortune teller, I can't help but think about this. If I don't see what it leads to, I won't be able to relax. That's why I'm going with you!"

"Says who?" Claire demanded.

"I'm coming with you no matter WHAT you say!" Cait Sith claimed as he and Claire butted foreheads.

"The hell you are! What the hell can you do for battles? Annoy them with false fortunes?"

"My weapons are Megahorns, thank you very much!"

"I don't care if Jeanne doesn't." Cloud cut them off, shoving the card into his pocket.

All three sets of eyes turned to the woman in question. She sighed and turned to head off somewhere else. "Do as you wish." She told the Cat.

Cait Sith stuck his tongue out at Claire as he hopped after the woman in the white jacket as they headed towards the Battle Arena.

Bad idea.

"Why does something weird or stupid have to happen in every place we go to?" Claire demanded as they watched a guard fell to his knees, blood pouring out of his wounds and mouth. Cloud took off up the stairs, heading towards the Arena. The three with him hurried after.

More bodies were spread out across the floor, this time it was from bullets, not swords like they had been expecting.

"Did Sephiroth and Sienna do this!" Cloud demanded as he knelt down by one of the bodies.

"No, they didn't do this," Claire told her brother. "They don't use guns."

"That and there would be ice all over the place." Jeanne added.

Moans came from the front desk and they all turned to see a young woman slowly moving. All four of them hurried forward.

"Hey, what happened!" Cloud demanded.

"Ugh…ugh…a man with a gun…on his arm…" She moaned before passing back out.

The twins exchanged looks as Jeanne frowned. Barret wouldn't have done something like this.

Cait Sith opened his mouth to say something when a man cut them off. "Hold it right there! And stay quiet!"

Dio and two guards came running forward. "Did you guys do this!" Speedo-man demanded.

"No! It wasn't us!" Cloud told him.

"We just found them like this!" Claire added. "You told us to check this place out and we were!"

But the owner didn't believe them. "I must've been wrong…"

"Hurry and run," Cait Sith told them. "It's gonna get ugly."

Jeanne didn't want to but the other three took off and she sighed, following them into the next room…that turned out to be a dead-end. "Anymore bright ideas?" She asked the cat.

"That's as far as you go." Dio hollered.

"Wait, listen to…" Cloud tried to speak but he was cut off as four robots jumped on top of them, grasping them.

Jeanne struggled against hers as the three others were taken away and the robot that held her quickly followed them into another room where the three before her jumped down a hole in the floor. She scowled at Dio.

"We didn't do anything!" She told him, but he ignored her. Her eyes narrowed even more. "When I get out of there you're gonna regret it."

Dio glared at her but found that she was now frowning at the 'Gateway to Heaven' that was painted on the hole in the floor. It pissed him off that she could threaten him like that and just look away and so -

"Pay for your crime below!" Dio screamed. The guard pressed the button again and Jeanne was thrown down below where Cloud, Claire, and Cait Sith were waiting.

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	19. Chapter 18

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Thank you, YoungReckless, Mizutoki, and Loveless for your reviews! I greatly appreciate them! :)**

**Chapter Eighteen**

**Barret's Past Part 2**

**Claire scowled as she stood, wiping sand form her clothes. **

"Are you all right?"

She turned to her brother.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Where are we?"

"A desert prison," Cait Sith answered. "Corel Prison."

"A desert prison?" Jeanne raised an eyebrow as she stood.

"Yup, a natural prison in the middle of the desert…surrounded entirely by quicksand. I heard that once you get in, you never get out…but there was one special exception," He paused and glanced over Jeanne's shoulder. She turned.

"Barret?" She called. The large man turned to her but then turned back around to face the body that was at his feet.

"Did you…" Claire pulled a shocked face.

"Stay back!" Barret yelled at them. "This' something I gotta deal with. Jes' leave me alone..." He took off into the scraps of the prison.

"Whew! That's one of your friends? He sure looks dangerous." Cait Sith commented.

"Barret…" Claire sighed.

Jeanne wasn't going to take Barret's answer. She wanted to know just what the hell was going on and so she took off after the large man, following him into one of the houses.

Barret turned and glared at the four of them. "Didn't I tell you not to come here!"

Cait Sith quivered at the sound of his anger. "Ju…Just hold on for a second! We just want to talk! You'll understand if you just hear us out!"

Barret pulled a face before lifting his gun and firing. Jeanne turned and watched as a man, bald and holding his own gun, hell out from behind the couch. Claire gave a sigh of relief.

"Didn't want none of yall to get involved." The man muttered.

"Too bad." Claire told him.

The door opened. "Hey, that's Cloud's line!" Aerith cried as she Red Xlll, Yuffie, Tifa, and Zeke trudged in. "'It's too dangerous, I can't let you get involved', blah, blah, blah." Cloud flushed and Jeanne smirked.

"Yeah, we're already involved in this," Tifa agreed.

"Wait, how did you guys get here?" Claire asked.

"Yuffie, Aerith, and I saw Barret come down here so we followed." Red Xlll answered ad the woman looked at Zeke and Tifa.

Zeke was flushing under the woman's glare. They all raised an eyebrow at the man.

"What do you want me to say, Tifa?" Zeke demanded. "The bastard made me spill my beer!"

"It was a drop!" The woman growled.

"Yeah; a drop that I ain't ever going to get back! "

"Does it matter?"

Zeke gave her a horrified look. "Of course it matters! The bastard should have apologized for bumping into me instead of demanding that I apologize to him!"

"You should have; you were the one that bumped into him!" Tifa squealed.

Zeke crossed his arms and turned his face away. Jeanne felt an ache in her chest. That look…Zack would use that same look when she won a fight like that. She always found it to be so adorable, and now…

"What's going on, Barret," Aerith asked.

He sighed. "It is said that the murders at the Battle Arena were done by a man with a gun on his arm. Was it you?" Claire questioned.

Barret shook his head. "There's another…another man that got a gun grafted into one of his arms. It was four years ago…"

_**~I remember…I was on my way home from visiting a Mako Reactor being built.~**_

_Barret and Dyne, laughing happily as they paused for a break, noticed an elderly man from their village screaming their names as he ran down the tracks.  
>"Barret! Dyne! Come quick! The village's being attacked! It's ShinRa soldiers!"<em>

"_What!" Barret hollered. He and Dyne shared a look before hurrying off to the cliff to get a look as their village._

_It was on fire. They hadn't made it in time._

"_What the hell happened…" Barret was out of breath as he couldn't believe his eyes. He slammed his hand on the boulder beside him and Dyne placed a hand on his shoulder. _

"_Hey, Barret! It's not over yet! Everyone's waiting! Let's go back to the village!"_

_But the elder man was being attacked on the tracks now, and soon, the ground crumbled beneath Barret and Dyne's feet as they tried to run away. Barret was Dyne's last hope of hanging on but when Scarlet shot both their hands; Barret had no choice but to let go. _

_Dyne fell down into the Canyon. Barret didn't even have time to grieve for his friend before he had to run away from being shot himself from the crazy ShinRa men._

**Barret sighed. **"From then on, I couldn't use my right arm no more. I was depressed for a while," Barret admitted. "But then I threw away my artificial arm and got this gun grafted it." He turned and gazed down at it. "Got a new right arm to get revenge on the ShinRa, who took everything away." He turned back to them all again. "Back then, I heard the doc say that there was another man who got the same operation as me, but his was his left arm.

"Ah," Jeanne nodded. "Dyne. But, what is he doing here?"

"He'll probably join us to fight against ShinRa." Tifa was saying.

Barret shook his head. "Wouldn't bet on it. I gotta apologize to Dyne before I can rest in peace. An' that's why I gotta go alone, but…"

"Do as you wish." Jeanne turned from the large man. "If you want to do this alone, then go. We'll wait for you right here."

"Are you sure about that?" Claire asked the woman beside her.

Zeke fell onto the couch, stretching out. "Just let them go, Claire. Let the big gun-man handle his problems on his own."

Claire and Tifa shared a look before they both sat on one of the other couches in silence. Everyone else took their own seat, Cait Sith began to introduce himself to the others and Barret looked up at the woman that was still standing.

"Actually, Jeanne…I…I want you and Cloud to come with me." The others all paused and looked at him in surprise. "I…"

Jeanne nodded. "There's no need for you to explain why, Barret. Of course I'll go with you." Cloud stood from the chair and gave his own answer in a nod.

Barret gave them an appreciative look. "We'll be back later." The man led the from the house, shouts and goodbyes and good lucks following after them. The three were silent as they followed Barret down the street. The man seemed just where to go and they soon came across another dead body near a heaping pile of junk cars and other things. "This one's been shot too…" Cloud announced as he knelt down.

"Dyne," Barret growled, gripping his fist.

Jeanne opened her mouth to speak when a gunshot from the other pile of junk echoed around the place. Barret took off immediately and the two other followed the man to a cliff where a single person was standing in light.

"Dyne…is that you?" Barret called out to the figure.

The man lifted his head. Jeanne narrowed her eyes but still couldn't see him. "Now that's a voice I haven't heard in years…" He stood and limped forward. "A voice I'll never forget…"

Jeanne frowned. ~Poor Thing.~ She thought. The man was dressed in clothes that seemed to be unwashed in ages; rips and dirt and it eve looked like blood. His face was dirt, his left leg held a limp as his left arm was a gun like Barret's. The dark-brown haired man seemed to glare at Barret, not even noticing Jeanne and Cloud.

"I always hoped I'd be able to see you again someday…I knew you were alive somewhere…we had the same operation. Listen to me Dyne, I want to…" Barret took a few steps forward but Dyne shot at his feet, making him stop in surprise.

"What's that?" Dyne asked. "I hear her voice. I hear her voice, Eleanor's voice. Begging me…not to have your rotten guts. That's why I didn't hunt you down..."

Barret lowered his head. "I know I was stupid. I'm not asking you to forgive me. But…what are you doing in a place like this? Why ya wanna kill those that ain't even involved? Why?"

"Why?" Dyne growled, enraged. "The hell do you care for! Are the people killed going to understand 'why'? Are the people of Corel going to understand just hearing ShinRa's excuses? I don't CARE what the reason is! All they give us are artillery and stupid excuses…what's left is a world of despair and emptiness…" Barret pulled a sad face. Dyne turned. "You still want to hear 'why'?...All right, I'll tell you. 'Cause I want to destroy everything." He let out a gunshot. "The people of the city." Another shot. "This city itself." Three more. "The whole world! Corel, Eleanor…Marlene," Dyne shuddered.

Barret lifted his hand forward. "Dyne, Marlene…Marlene's still alive." Dyne looked back at him in surprise. "I went back into the town. I thought she was gone for sure. That is why I wanted to be by her side till the end." He was talking about his wife, Jeanne realized. "That's when I found her…found Marlene. She's in Midgar. Let's go see her together, all right?"

"So…she's still alive…" Dyne whispered. "All right, Barret. I guess that means you and I gotta fight."

Barret pulled a face. "What!"

Dyne faced him again. "Eleanor's alone all by herself. I've got to take Marlene to her."

"Dyne, are you insane!"

"Marlene wants to see her Mom, doesn't she?" Dyne started firing again.

"Stop, Dyne! I can't die yet!"

Dyne halted. "Oh yeah? Well my life's been over ever since then." He shot again.

"Stop it!" I don't want to fight you!"

"Barret!" Cloud called out but Jeanne held him back.

"He has to do this on his own, Cloud." She told him.

"But…"

"She's right, Cloud!" the man told him. "You stay the hell out of it! This is MY problem!"

Cloud still looked uncertain but he turned away from the two men as the gunshots starting going off. There was something that had been bothering him for a little while now about when they had met Zeke. He just didn't have the time to talk to her about it. Now seemed to be the best time.

"Jeanne?" She turned and looked at him. "Who's Zack?"

Jeanne froze and Cloud could feel the sudden change of atmosphere around them. "Why do you ask that?"

"Well, Zeke said that Zack was his cousin and that you and him were partners. That was before you met us, right?" He watched as she clutched that ring on her finger. He had never wondered where she had gotten it before, but now…

"Yes," she replied carefully. He was a partner of mine from before I met you and your sister. ~That's true, after all. He didn't ask when they stopped being partners.~

"Now, why does Zeke think that the Buster Blade is his cousin's?"

That was something that Jeanne didn't know how to answer. Opening her mouth to reply, she was greatly pleased when the sudden halt of gunfire made them turn to the two men before them

Dyne and fallen to his knees and Barret ran to him. "Back!" Dyne screamed. He pushed himself to his feet and moved to the wall to lean on it. He sighed. "…It wasn't just my arm…back then…I lost something irreplaceable. I don't know where I went wrong…."

Barret shook his head. "Dyne…I don't know either, man." He sighed. "Is this the only way…we can resolve this?"

"I told you…I…I want to destroy everything. Everything…this crazy world…even me…"

Barret shook his head. "An' what 'bout Marlene? What's gonna happen to her!"

"…Think about it…Barret…How old was Marlene back then…? Even if I did got to her now…she wouldn't even know me…And what's more…Barret…These hands are a little too stained to carry Marlene anymore…" Barret's head dropped. "Barret…" The head lifted. Dyne took something off of his neck. "Give this pendant to Marlene…It was…Eleanor's…my wife's…memento…"

Barret caught the necklace as it was tossed to him. "All right…"

Dyne pushed himself from the wall and stared down at the ground. "Wow…Marlene's…already….4…" He began to walk towards the cliff. "Barret…Don't…make…Don't ever make Marlene…cry…"

Barret looked confused. "Dyne…?" It then hit him as Dyne spread his arms out. "No!" He ran forward but it was too late. "DY-NE!" He reached down for him but there was nothing he could do. He stared down after his friend, tears swelling up in his eyes. "…Dyne. Me an' you were the same…My hands ain't any cleaner…I shouldn't be able to carry…Marlene either…" He then threw his head back and let out a loud scream.

Jeanne watched in silence for a moment before stepping forward, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Come on; let's get out of here and back on the road. The sooner we win, the sooner you get to go back to Marlene."

Barret looked up at her in silence for a moment before nodding. He and Cloud followed her out of the Junkyard and back towards the small 'town'.

"**You want somethin'?" **Mr. Coates asked as the three of them walked into the room.

"I want to go up." Barret told him.

"You gotta get the Boss' permission, then win the Chocobo…"

"Dyne's got his reason an' can't speak." Barret growled. "So, I got this, instead." He held his hand out.

"Yeah, bull-!" He stopped when he saw the pendant.

"I want to go up." Barret repeated himself.

"R…right." The man shivered. "Did you kill Dyne? You must've. Or you'd never be holding that thing…So Dyne's dead…Maybe now, the place'll calm down a little. Dyne didn't care who anyone was…"

Barret reached forward and grabbed the guy's throat. "The hell do YOU know!"

"R…ri…right! I mean, no, I DON'T know anything. S, s…sorry!" He cried in fear.

"Then are you going to get us out of here?" Jeanne asked.

"Huh? Oh man, you guys are mistaken," Mr. Coates replied. "I already told you, there's only one way to get outta here. That's to win the Chocobo Race and that's held up there, in the Gold Saucer. And, only one racer can go up at a time."

"Say what!" Barret demanded, grabbing him again.

"NOOOO! Really, even if you threaten me! A rule's a rule. I can't change it. If I do, the whole system down here'll get messed up! An' I can't do that!" He then thought for a moment. "Okay, ok, I'll let one go up there. After that, he's gotta deal with Dio."

Barret let him go. "Awright then." He turned to the two behind him. "Who do you think should go up?"

Jeanne and Cloud shared a look before the woman grinned. "Oh, I know who."

**Zeke sat up, a cold chill traveling down his back. **He had been taking a nap as the others talked while waiting for Barret, Cloud, and Jeanne to return but the chill down his back was giving him a very uncertain feeling.

"Hey, Tifa?" The woman looked over to him. "Why do I have a very bad feeling and why do I think that Jeanne is involved with it?"

Tifa shared a look with a giggling Claire before glancing back to the man on the couch. "You're just acting stupid, Zeke. Calm down. They'll be back soon; don't worry."

Zeke nodded and lay back down. He still held that nervous feeling, though.

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	20. Chapter 19

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**To answer your question, Loveless, I have thought about being an Author. Infact, that's the career that I am shooting after. I am actually writing a book right now and I will let you know when it is finished :)**

**Chapter Nineteen**

**Return to Gongaga**

"**GET ME THE HELL OFF OF THIS DISGUSTING BIRD!"**

"You know, I had no idea that Zeke was afraid of Chocobos." Claire laughed as she stared out the buggy window at the man tied to the back of the bird.

Zeke had been the one that competed in the Chocobo race. They had to tie him on to the bird because he refused to touch it. His screams throughout the entire race is what made the Chocobo run so fast; the screams scared it and made him what to get the screaming monster off its back. Zeke won though, and Dio apologized for everything and even gave them a yellow buggy to use to get around with. It was tightly packed, but they were just going to have to deal with that.

Jeanne was driving. Cloud and Claire sat beside her, smooshing together so that both of them could fit in the same seat. Tifa and Aerith did the same thing behind them as Barret and Yuffie sat in the seat with Red Xlll lying across their laps. Everyone was complaining so in the next town, Jeanne was going to find another cart that they might be able to drag behind the buggy instead of the Chocobo.

That's right; Jeanne decided to torture Zeke a bit more and leave him in the Chocobo. The bird was tied to the back of the buggy with the screamer still on it, running behind the car. She was going to let the bird go after they stopped at the next town and it wasn't that far ahead now.

Infact, Jeanne knew where she was going. She had had this planned for a while now; even before Zeke had appeared. The moment she saw the large pile of metal sticking out in front of the mountain, she couldn't help but smile.

"Gongaga." She announced, pulling the buggy to a top just outside the path that she and Zack had taken almost four years ago.

Tifa lifted her head and gazed out the window. She knew what this meant, but she wondered why Jeanne brought them here.

Exiting the buggy, the others followed. Barret untied Zeke, who jumped to the ground and kissed it(he then jumped on Cloud and started to choke him for tying him to the bird on the first place).

After the Chocobo ran off, Jeanne turned and made her way up the path that led to Gongaga. It wasn't too long that she heard voices, making her stop. It was three Turks. Reno, Rude, and that new one, Liana.

"Reno," Jeanne peered around a bush, motioning the others into silence behind her. It was Liana talking. "You like Jena, don't you?"

The man in question looked at his and Rude's new prob…er, partner. "And if I do?"

"Oh, it's nothing; I just wanted to know if you knew how you were going to win her from the Boss." The young woman gave a laugh at the glare on Reno's face. "Oh, come on, Reno. I'm just teasing you."

"Well, you do it in awful ways." He sighed.

"Jena is my teacher, after all."

"Yeah," Reno sighed again. "Anyway," He pulled a smirk. "Who is it you like?"

Liana pulled a quick look at Rude before crossing her arms. "I'm not going to tell you that! After all, I just met you guys!"

"Will you tell us after we grow more acquainted?" The redhead grinned.

"Hell no!" She then gave a sly smirk oh her own. "But, I do know that Elena's got a thing for Tseng."

Reno looked very surprised and interested. "I never knew that. I always thought she had a thing for you, Rude." The man in sunglasses turned with a raised eyebrow. Redhead laughed.

"Tseng has a thing for the Ancient Girl though, doesn't he?" Rude asked.

Jeanne shook her head with a smile. ~Jena still hasn't decided if she wants Reno or Rufus yet, eh?~

"What are they talking about?" Cloud asked. It seemed that only she could hear them.

"It's so stupid!" A voice made the nine of them turn around to face the blonde Turk behind them. "They always talk about who they like and don't like. But Tseng is different." ~Looks like Liana was right~ Jeanne chuckled silently. It seemed that Elena realized who she was talking to and hurried to the other three. "They're here!" She cried. "They're really here!"

"Hmm…then it's time." Reno sighed. "Rude, don't go on easy on them even though they're girls."

"Don't worry, I'll do my job." Rude replied.

"Then we're counting on you. I'll report to Tseng!" Elena ran off as Jeanne led her group forward.

"Reno," Jeannne greeted.

"It's been a while." The redhead grinned. "When Rude and Tseng told me that you were at the Office, I was rather annoyed that I wasn't there to see you." His eyes then turned to the ones behind her. "Payback time for what you did in Sector 7," Reno told Cloud.

The blond frowned. "Out of our way," He growled.

Reno growled his own reply. "I don't like being taken for a fool."

"But then you wouldn't be able to do anything." Claire grinned; Yuffie laughed and gave her a high-five.

"That's as far as you go," Rude told them.

"Now, if you give us the Cetra girl, that's a different story." Liana locked eyes with a Jeanne. Aerith and the others looked at the woman in white.

She shrugged. "I don't care," She announced. "She's not following me, she's following Cloud." ~Like a whore,~ Claire frowned. "Whatever you do to her had nothing to do with me." She moved out of the way of the woman in pink, who looked offended until Tifa took that spot. "But the rest of them, well, that is your problem."

"I sure as hell ain't getting into this." Zeke announced, stepping off to the side. "You'll have fun with the BST here."

"BST?" Reno asked the man.

"Black-Suit-Trio." The man grinned.

Reno gave a laugh. "Jena was right; you are just like your cousin."

Zeke gave a sad smile as he sat down on a tree stump. ~Yeah…Zack was something else~

So, in the end, it was Jeanne vs. Liana, Reno vs. Cloud, and Rude vs. Tifa. Everyone else had decided to step off to the side with Zeke and just watch.

As Tifa and Rude began their little fish fight, and Reno and Cloud whacked away at each other with their sword and stick, Jeanne face Liana, her hand itching to grab Genesis' sword.

"Just what fighting tactics do you use?" She called out to the blue-haired woman.

"Well, you're sister is the one that taught me, is she not?" Liana grinned and reached behind her and pulled out a pair of sais.

As Jeanne gazed at them, she found out that these Sais were familiar. Very familiar. Their handles were a pink and silver with the carvings of Dragon fruit flowers. Sienna had had them created for Jena when she was accepted into the Turks. Jeanne smirked.

"If she gave them to you that must mean that you're apparently someone she sees something in. You should feel honored."

"Oh, I am, believe me." Twirling the weapons on her hands for a second, Liana lunged forward, taking the first step in the battle.

Genesis' blade was whipped out and lashed against the sais. Pushing forward, Jeanne sent Liana through the air before jumped after her. Slashes and stabs were exchanged for a few moments in the air; Jeanne received a stab in her arm while a slash was now of Liana's face. Liana gave a shout and jumped off of one of the trees and flew towards the woman in white still in the air but she didn't make it up there. Genesis' blade swung at her, the blunt side of it catching her in the head and knocking her to the ground.

Rude caught sight of the woman falling and bit his lip. Lifting his foot, he kicked Tifa in the stomach knocking her away before hurrying under his other partner and catching her. He didn't have time to say anything as Jeanne decided to fall down as well, her sword ready. Rude jumped back just moments before Genesis' sword was shoved into the ground he was just standing in. The ground rumbled beneath them all and cracks peeled through the dirt, sending fire shooting out of them until Jeanne straightened up and pulled the blade from the ground. Everyone, even Reno and Cloud, was watching them now.

"Thanks," Liana told Rude. The man gave a silent nod before setting her back to her feet and taking a step back as her Sais reappeared in her hands. "You're sister was right," She rolled her shoulders. "You are strong, but you're not even using your full strength."

Jeanne grinned and took a stance. "If you can tell that, my sister was right about you." She moved first this time, and the three battles picked back up. This time though, Liana was dodging the attacks and blocking instead of returning and Jeanne soon realized that the woman was leading her away from all the others.

They were soon in a pile of junk; it was where the Reactor once stood.

Liana dropped to the ground and held her hands up. Jeanne halted and the woman wiped blood off of her cheek; Jeanne had to roll up her sleeve so that no more blood could get on it.

"Now that we're away from the others, I have a message for you from Jena."

The blade lowered a bit. "A message?"

"You do know who Cait Sith is, don't you?" Liana asked. Jeanne raised an eyebrow and the Turk smirked. "You sister may be a Turk, but she still isn't going to let her sister go through this trouble alone. And though you're an enemy," Liana's grip on the Sais hardened. "I will not let my teacher go through this alone. She's sending you a warning. Cait Sith is a spy from ShinRa. And he's kidnapped that child, Marlene."

Jeanne frowned, biting her lip, several ideas flowing through her head. "A spy? But who…" It then hit her. What hadn't she seen it before? What man in ShinRa loved making robotic cats? She used to watch him do it! How could she have not recognized the cat? "Reeve Tuesti." She said.

Liana nodded with a grin. "Your sister told me that you were going to be able to know who it was. Yes, it's Reeve. Be careful; he could pull something anytime soon." Jeanne nodded and opened her mouth to respond again when she was cut off by the sound of a helicopter. "Quick," Liana grabbed Jeanne's arm and pulled her behind the pile of metal. She remembered this place from her first visit. This was exactly where she and Zack had left the motorcycle that Cissnei had given them.

Two people walked into the scraps, and Jeanne narrowed her eyes. Scarlet and Tseng.

"Hmph! This isn't any good either!" Scarlet frowned. "You only get junky materia from junky reactors." She moved back to Tseng. "This reactor's a failure. What I'm looking for is gig, large, huge Materia. You see any?"

Tseng shook his head. "No, I haven't seen it. I'll get on it right away.

"Please," Said the woman in the red dress. "We could make the ultimate weapon if only we had some."

"I just can't wait."

Jeanne couldn't help but smirk. Tseng didn't change one bit.

"With Hojo gone, the weapon's development's been getting a bigger budget."

"I enjoy them." The man sighed, bored.

She ignored him. "But even if we make the perfect weapon, could that stupid Heidegger even use it?" Tseng stayed silent and Scarlet laughed. "Oh…sorry! I forgot Heidegger was your boss! Ha ha ha! She turned and headed back for the helicopter. "Let's go!" They both disappeared.

"Huge Materia, hmm?" Jeanne pondered. "The perfect, ultimate weapon? What are you up to, Rufus?"

Liana stood and brushed the dirt from her knees. "I have to go. I'll let your sister know that I gave the message."

Jeanne nodded. "Thanks," She called after the young woman. Liana turned a gave her a nod before she ran off into the trees; she'd find Rude and Reno waiting on her, she was sure.

When Jeanne re-entered the area the others were left in, she found Tifa with a few bruises and it looked like some of Cloud's hair had been burned off; smelled like it, too.

"Hey," Barret looked at the woman. "Did your little friend run off too?"

"Yes," She gave the Cat a quick look as he looked back before she turned and headed down the other path that led to the town. "Let's get something to eat and rest."

Zeke hurried up beside her. He was excited about returning home, and this time, he was going to take Jeanne right to his Aunt and Uncle. He wasn't going to tell them that their son was dead alone.

"Oh my God."

Jeanne had struggled to keep it all closed, but the moment her eyes landed on the waterfall, she was done for. The tears spilled over and before she knew it, she was on her knees, her face buried in her hands. The flashbacks of Zack all fluttered through her mind. Though she went through them daily, this time it hurt. At the hand on her shoulder, Jeanne glanced over to se Zeke and the others were behind him, watching.

"I…I want to go see them," She said. "I need to go see them."

Everyone stayed silent and Zeke nodded, helping her to her feet. "Guys, go get something to eat. We'll meet up with you again later." The man told them. "I'll have a place for us all to sleep at later so just…just don't leave the town."

They all nodded and most of the walked off, but Cloud and Claire didn't leave. Instead, they followed Zeke as he led them to a small house on the outside of the town. Zeke knocked onto the door before pushing it open.

Jeanne closed her eyes, not being able to bear the sight of the house and the two inhabitants and she turned her head away.

Cloud and Claire found two elder people sitting in chairs, talking. The moment the door opened though, the two stopped talking and jumped to their feet.

"Zeke?" The elder pair smiled. "You're back!"

"Hi Auntie, Uncle."

"Auntie?" Cloud asked as the elder woman hugged her nephew.

"Yep," Zeke patted her back. "This is where I grew up."

"Where have you been, Zeke? Did you find him? Her? Anything at-" The man's questions fell short as they both took notice of Cloud and Claire. Their Mako-glowing eyes and the outfits that they were wearing.

"You're in SOLDIER, aren't you? Do you know anything about our son?" The woman asked.

"His name is Zack."

Cloud and Claire shared a look. That name again….so this was where it started.

"It's been close to ten years since he left for the city, saying that he didn't want to live in the country. Have you ever heard of Zack Fair?"

"Hmm, I don't know." Cloud and Claire stepped out of the way. "But we're sure that she has."

Jeanne didn't move for a moment before turning to face the elder couple. She rubbed her elbow, several emotions running through her form.

"Hi, Mrs." She sighed. "Mrs. Fair. Mr. Fair. It's…it's good to see you again."

"Jeanne Rush," The man sighed after a few moments.

"Yeah, it's me."

Mrs. Fair took three steps towards Jeanne before slapping the woman across the face. Claire and Cloud both pulled surprised faces as the Jeanne and the woman stared at each other and then made even more shocked faces as the woman collapsed into Jeanne's chest, covering her face as she cried.

Zeke was wearing his own sad face. "Cloud, Claire, please go join the others. We'll…I'll come find you later and take you to my house for the night."

Cloud, realizing that this was a private matter, nodded his head and dragged his sister from the home, leaving the four of them in privacy.

_**~The haze beyond your eyes clouds my sight  
>Are there feelings lying at the bottom of your heart?<br>Even if the whole world was yours  
>Would that that bring you happiness?<strong>_

_**Why do you up at the lonesome sky?  
>Why, let's see you smile<br>I know what you're like  
>How you aren't good at putting things into words, so why not...<strong>_

_**What happened in days long past?  
>In your eyes, as turn your gaze away from me<br>Do you know of such a warmth  
>One that can embrace you on those lonely nights by yourself?<strong>_

_**Why are you so worked up on appearances?  
>Why, open up your heart<br>I know you've had a heavy cross to bear  
>But I've got the strength to accept you<br>So why not try believing in me**_

_**The free are awkward...  
>The free are anxious...<strong>_

_**Why do you look up at the lonesome sky?  
>Why, let's see you smile<br>I know what you're like  
>How you aren't good at putting thing into words<br>So why not try believing in me~**_

**Opening the door, Jeanne paused to take the sight in. **Mrs. Fair said that Jeanne could use Zack's room while Zeke and the rest of the group were at his house. She had had dinner with Zack's parents. The mother cried throughout the entire thing, but she was glad that…that she finally knew the truth.

They hadn't touched Zack's room since they left Gongaga those few years ago. His clothes were still all over the place, his desk was messy, and the picture of their trip to Costa Del Sol with Sienna, Reno, and Jena was still on his bedside table. And his bed…his bad was still unmade from the last time he slept in it. Jeanne immediately went over to it and collapsed upon it. The smell of Zack, the feel of the man, was all around her. She had half the mind to strip down and wash herself in his shower before falling asleep in a shirt of his…

~Hey~ She sat up and looked at the closet and the dresser. ~That's actually not to bad of an idea~

"**This Zack guy,"** Claire sat up and stared at the roof of the room that she and Cloud were sharing in Zeke's house. "I think that…I'm getting the feeling that he meant a lot to Jeanne. She may have even loved him with the way she's been reacting. Maybe she was married to him! That must be why that ring is on her finger!" She turned her head down and looked at the ground. "But why…why didn't she tell us?" Cloud was silent for a moment, trying to ignore the anger and pain traveling through him. He stood up and began to walk off. "Hey, where are you going?"

He didn't turn around; just threw his answer over his shoulder as the door shut behind him. "I'm going to go see Aerith."

**Oh no! Cloud is pissed! Maybe Claire shouldn't have said anything, lol!**

**Until next time :)**

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	21. Chapter 20

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Get ready for a long chapter, my friends!**

**Chapter Twenty**

**Cosmo Canyon**

"**Are you fucking kidding me!" **Zeke's voice echoed around the canyon as he kicked the wheel of the buggy.

It had been his turn to drive it and it had decided to cut off on them right outside of Cosmo Canyon. They had been on the roar for a few hours now. Tifa and Aerith were beside him in the front of the car and thought the back was tight with the others all there, nobody decided to complain about it. In fact, no one was talking period and the silence was awkward. Jeanne had been mindlessly running her hand over Red Xlll's head but now that they were outside Cosmo Canyon, they got out of the car and the red beast ran off towards his home. Since the buggy was no longer working, they all followed him.

Red Xlll went running up the stairs. "I am home!" He cried as he came to a halt before the Guardsman. "It is I, Nanaki!"

"Nanaki?" Yuffie raised an eyebrow.

"Hey Nanaki!" The man hugged the red beast. "You're safe! Come on and say hello to Bugenhagen!"

"Bugenhagen?" It was Tifa's eyebrow that rose this time.

The red beast ran off, leaving the others with the guard.

"What do you do here?" Aerith asked.

"People from all over the world gather here to seek the study of planet life." The man answered.

"Woooo!" Barret cheered, throwing his hands in the air. "I always wanted to come here!" He looked like a kid in a candy shop, but his face fell at the man's next words.

"It's full capacity at the moment. So I'm afraid that I can't let you enter."

It seemed that Red Xlll sensed their trouble and ran back down the steps. "They helped me some when I was on the road. Please let them in."

That changed the man completely. "Oh, is that so? You helped our Nanaki? Please, come in."

Jeanne led the way through and up another few sets of stairs to where Red Xlll was waiting for them.

"Here is where I was…" Red Xlll began. "I mean…this is my home town. My tribe was protectors of those who appreciate this beautiful canyon and the planet. My brave mother fought and died here but my cowardly father left her…I am the last of my race."

"Cowardly father?" Cloud asked.

"Yes, my father was a wastrel. And so the mission I inherited from my ancestors was to protect this place. My journey ends here."

Jeanne opened her mouth to speak but someone cut her off. It was a…floating old man up towards the top of the canyon.

"Hey! Nanaki! You're home!"

"Coming Grandpa!" Red Xlll called to him and took off again.

"Whooo! Let's take a breather." Barret suggested. "I got stuff I want to find out, too."

Jeanne sighed as everyone ran off, leaving her standing there. What else could she do but follow Red Xlll? There was nothing else that she could really do until the buggy was fixed; and Claire was taking care of that right now, no doubt.

Jeanne followed the red creature up to the very top house of the canyon, and knocked on the door. A voice told her to come in and she shut the door behind her.

The Room looked like a scientific place, but it was nothing like Hojo's place.

"Jeanne, this is my grandfather, Bugen," Red Xlll introduced her to the old man. "He is incredible. He knows everything." She couldn't help but smile; he sounded like an excited child.

"Ho ho hoooo," The floating man grinned. "I hear that you looked after Nanaki a bit. He's still a child, you see."

~Oh, that explains~

"Please stop, grandfather. I'm 48" If Red Xlll wasn't red, he was blushing, without a doubt.

~Then again,~ Jeanne scratched the back of her head. ~Maybe not~

Bugen laughed again. "Nanaki's tribe has incredible longevity." He explained. "So you see his 48 years would only be equivalent to say that of a 15 or 16 year old in human reckoning."

"15 or 16?" Jeanne asked. "And you're still more mature than Yuffie!"

"He's quiet and very deep. You thought he was an adult?"

"Grandfather," Red Xlll looked embarrassed now. "I want to be an adult. I want to grow up and to be able to protect you and the village."

"No, Nanaki," Bugen shook his head. "You can't stand on your own yet. To do that now would destroy you in the long run. Reaching up into the heavens, threatening to snatch the very stars from the great city of Midgar. You've seen it, haven't you?" He paused. "Well, that's a bad example. Looking up too much makes you lose perspective." Jeanne frowned as he hopped onto the table. "When it's time for this planet to die you'll understand that you know absolutely nothing."

"When the planet dies?" Jeanne's frown grew worse.

"It may be tomorrow, or 100 years from now…but it's not long off."

"And just how do you know this?" She asked.

"I hear the cries of the planet."

She looked surprised. "Are you a…a Cetra?"

"Oh no," The man shook his head. "Not I. Listen carefully," Things fell silent and a howling could be heard. "While that sound goes on, Planets are born and die."

Jeanne pulled a face at the screams and wails. How could she never hear that before? "Was that…were those from this Planet?"

"Yes," Bugen nodded. "It's like they're saying – 'I hurt, I suffer'."

She felt sad and mad at the same time. ShinRa was doing this! Maybe not all, but the Majority of it.

"They have come here on a journey to save the planet." Red Xlll decided to announce. "Why not show them your apparatus?"

"To save the planet?" Bugen laughed as he jumped off the table; it was a happy one, now. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to show her."

"Bugenhagen!" They all turned to see a man walk in. "Several odd looking people have arrived in the city."

"The whole place has gotten busy all of a sudden." The elder chuckled.

"Those are probably the others he was talking about." Jeanne stated.

Red Xlll nodded. "I'll go gather them around the fire. You should grab two of them, Jeanne, to go into the machine with you. Only three will fit though."

As Red Xlll left, Jeanne pulled out her phone to call Cloud, but she froze. After watching him and Aerith this morning, she didn't feel like dealing with him.

But there was someone that she DID want to talk to.

Five minutes later. Cait Sith and Yuffie burst into the door.

"Is everything all right?" The Robotic Cat demanded.

"Do I have to steal someone's Materia?" Yuffie asked, holding her Ninja Star in attack position.

Jeanne raised an eyebrow; she hadn't been expecting Yuffie. Oh well, Cait Sith was going to be around her for a while now. She could get him alone another time.

"Nothing's wrong," Jeanne walked into the machine, following Bugenhagen. "Just come with me."

They followed her into the machine and she glanced about them as the other three introduced themselves. It was a diagram of the universe. Was this guy planning to hit space?

"Let's begin," Bugen pushed a button. The room went dark and the platform they were standing on raised up to a 3D graphic display of the universe.

"Whoa!" Yuffie cried out, gazing around the place. "Pretty good, surprisin' me." She laughed.

"Hmm, yes, pretty good. This is my laboratory. All the workings of space are entered into this 3D Holographic system. The workings of space are entered into this 3D Holographic system."

"What the? A shooting star?" Yuffie cried out. They all turned and watched as the shooting star and the planets and the comets traveled around them, the bright lights shining.

"Wow," Jeanne couldn't help let it slip.

"Yes, it is something, isn't it?" Bugen asked. "Eventually all humans die. What happens to them after they die? The body decomposes and returns to the planet, that much everyone knows. What about their consciousness, their hearts, and their souls? The soul too returns to the planet. And not only those of humans, but everything on this planet. In fact, all living things in the universe are the same. The spirits that return to the planet merge with one another and roam the planet. They roam, converge, and divide, becoming a shell, called the 'Life Stream'. In other words, a path of energy of the souls roaming the planet. 'Spirit Energy' is a word that you should never forget. A new life…children are blessed with Spirit Energy and are brought into the world. Then, the time comes when they die and once again return to the planet. Of course there are exceptions, but this is the way of the world. I've digressed, but you'll understand better of you watch this."

Jeanne and the other two watched the image of the lone figure on the planet melt into the ground before popping up as another person on the other side of the orb. The orb was then covered with multiple colors.

"Spirit Energy makes all things possible; trees, birds, humans. Not all living things, but Spirit Energy makes it possible for Planets to be planets. What happens if that Spirit Energy were to disappear?"

The colors faded away and the planet turned to black and crumbled. Jeanne but her lip.

"These are the basics of the Study of Planet Life."

"So everything will be destroyed if the spirit energy is lost?" Jeanne asked.

"Spirit Energy is efficient BECAUSE it exists within nature. When spirit energy is forcefully extracted and manufactured it can't accomplish its true purpose.

Jeanne recalled something that Sienna had told her during their last mission together to Nibelheim.

_"The knowledge and wisdom of the Ancients is held in the Materia. Anyone with this knowledge can freely use the powers of the Land and the Planet. That knowledge interacts between us and the planet calling up magic…or so they say."_

"Every day Mako Reactors suck up Spirit Energy, diminishing it. It get's compressed in the reactors and processed into Mako Energy. All living things are being used up and thrown away. In other words, Mako energy will destroy the planet." Bugen told them.

"Well, looks like the reactors should all be destroyed." Jeanne commented, giving Cait Sith a hard glance as they exited the machine.

The cat glanced away.

"The story of the planet and those who lived with them. You want to know more? Then you must listen to the words of the elders."

The three of them left the house to leave Bugen on his own before he joined them later with the others. Red Xlll was talking to them all, saying their goodbyes to the creature that wasn't going to continue on with them.

Jeanne plopped down next to Claire and Cait Sith and stared at the fire, doing her best to ignore the fact that Cloud and Aerith were still talking.

But the glares that Claire was shooting the woman in pink made it very hard to. Even Barret and Tifa were glancing between Cloud and Jeanne, but she refused to acknowledge them as she continued to stare into the fire.

Everyone made comments. Yuffie wanted to leave; nothing was there. Barret was talking about what he had gone through and how he claimed that AVALANCHE was reborn now that he stopped and thought about what had happened, and Zeke was complaining about wanting a beer and Claire told him to shut up.

"Sephiroth and Sienna had the right idea," Jeanne suddenly said aloud, wrapping her arms around her legs. "They just went about it the wrong way. If I had been strong enough…I might have been able to convince them to help us fight against ShinRa. Things would have been different and none of this…none of this would be happening."

They all stayed silent and the blonde looked at the woman to her side. Claire didn't really know what to say with that. Jeanne had a point. Things would have been different if they had been strong enough to convince Sephiroth and Sienna to stay on their side, none of this would have happened, ShinRa would be defeated, and life would be normal.

She relieved everything that they had gone through when she noticed something. "Jeanne, why do you wear that feather in your hair?" She didn't remember what happened after they attacked Sephiroth and Sienna, and when they woke up again, Jeanne had been wearing the white feather in her hair. Why?

Jeanne's hand ran over the feather softly. She was actually quite surprised that it was still white and un-destroyed since she got it. It seemed that Angeal's feather had a little barrier to keep it from being destroyed.

"Angeal…" Jeanne paused and shook her head. "It's just a memento of an old friend from…from years ago."

Claire nodded and things fell silent for a moment before Aerith began to speak to Cloud; she seemed pleased but Cloud…

"I learned a lot. The elders taught me many things. About the Cetra…and the Promised Land…I'm…alone…I'm all alone now…"

"But, I'm…we're here for you right?" Cloud fought the frown.

"I know. I know, but… am the only…Cetra."

"Does that mean we can't help?"

"Stop whining." Jeanne ordered the woman. "It's starting to annoy me. It's like the whole flower cart all over again!"

Aerith opened her mouth to reply but Jeanne stood to her feet and walked off. Things stayed in an awkward silence as the woman in white returned with drinks and some food for everyone, passing them down the row.

"Bonfires are funny, aren't they?" Tifa decided to ask. "They make you remember all sorts of things. Hey, Cloud, you know, five years ago…" Cloud saw the glare Jeanne shot Tifa. It seemed to knock her back. "Never mind."

"What is it?" He asked, but she didn't say anything again and settled into eating in silence.

Cloud glared at Jeanne but the woman stared into the fire as she ate, ignoring everything around her as Claire and Yuffie talked about all types of different Materia.

"Long ago," Red Xlll decided to speak after he finished eating. "When I was still very small, we were all around this flame…" He shook his head. "No, never mind."

"What happened?" Zeke asked him, setting his beer aside.

"It's about my parents," He answered. "When I talk about my mother, I am full of pride and joy…and that's fine. But when I remember my father, my heart is full of anger…"

"You really can't forgive your father?" Everyone turned to see Bugenhagen approaching them.

"Of course," Red Xlll scowled. "He…left mother for dead. When the Gi tribe attacked, he ran off by himself, leaving mother and the people of the Canyon!" He shook his head.

"Come, Nanaki,"" Bugen said. "There's something you should see," Red Xlll lifted his head. "This place will be dangerous, so 2 people should come with us."

Jeanne and Claire immediately stood but Zeke shook his head. "I wanna go, I'm sick of looking at all your sorry faces," He pointed at Claire. "Especially yours for being pissed at your brother!" He then turned to Tifa and held out an arm. "Shall we?"

Tifa giggled and took his arm before the two of them and Red Xlll hurried off after Bugenhagen.

Jeanne grinned as she sat back down before she fingered the locket around her neck. She had found it in Zack's room, as well as the clothes she took from it,(Don't deny it. You'd want to wear his clothes to get his smell, lol. I would. Sephiroth's definitely. XD)and placed the man's picture in it from one of the photo of him and her from it.

~So now,~ She leaned back on the ground and stared at the dark sky. ~We wait.~

_**~We scream, we shout**_

_**We are the fallen angels**_

_**We scream, we shout, woah, woah**_

_**To those who sing alone**_

_**No need to feel this sorrow**_

_**We scream, we shout, woah**_

_**We are the fallen angels~**_

**They came to a stop at a metal door just under Bugenhagen's house.** He pressed a large, yellow button that had been hidden before and the doors opened.

"Go on, now." Bugen told them.

"Aren't you going with us?" Red Xlll asked.

He shook his head. "What are you, crazy? It's dangerous in there. I told you that! You want an old man like me should go first? I'll be right behind you."

They went down several ladders and ropes and landed in a cave-like place with a glowing, green wall. Zeke and Tifa seemed to get along real well while Bugen pressed a button hidden in a rock. As they talked and laughed, Tifa beat up the creatures that were attacking them as Zeke just knocked them out and aside.

As they approached the hole in the wall that the button had created, Bugen stepped forward and began to laugh.

"Everyone here's a ghost of the Go Tribe. Killed in a certain battle.

"A certain battle?" Zeke asked.

"The vengeful spirits of the Gi didn't disappear and couldn't return to the Life Stream…we still have far to go."

"Weird old man." Zeke mumbled, stepping through the doorway.

In the next room, there were several paths through the small pond of red water; Zeke was nowhere near finding out why it was red. There was spilled oil all over the place and as they walked across it to get the Materia scattered around the room, they were careful not to fall. But of course, Zeke did and the man was now covered in oil, cursing under his breath, as they walked to the next room.

"As you can see, this cave leads to the back of the Cosmo Canyon. It was unfortunate that the Gi were larger than us. If they were attacked through here, we wouldn't have had a chance."

"What makes you say that?" Zeke asked as he led the way across the path. It was then that a large spider dropped down in front of them from the ceiling. Zeke shivered at the sight of it but

almost fell over when Tifa jumped on him.

"I…HATE…SPIDERS!" Tifa screamed, clutching to the back of Zeke's shirt.

"Get-off-me!" Zeke struggled to breathe as she pulled his collar across his throat.

Tifa wouldn't let go, burying her face in his shirt as she tried to ignore the spider while Red Xlll killed it.

When Tifa finally settled down and let go of the man, all three followed after the old man again.

"This warrior went through the cave all alone. Fighting attackers one after another." Bugen said as they stopped at another doorway.

"Grandpa…" Red Xlll's eyes were wide. "That warrior…"

"We're almost there," Bugen hurried through the door, but in the other side they all found something that not even the old man was expecting. "What is this!" He screamed at the sight of the large Goblin face carved into the other wall.

"Grandpa, is he!"

"After death…the ghost of the Gi…like stagnant air…this…can't be!"

Zeke turned. "What are you-"

"Zeke!" Tifa's yall made the man turn around again to see the face's mouth open and out came a floating, Native American chief wannabe.

Zeke didn't need to say a word. With just a nod at the two fighters with him, he knelt down and pulled out the blue Materia that the little girl in Junon had given him. He had to have the other two distract the monster for a moment before he was able to call forth Shiva.

The figure burst out of a vortex of artic winds, instantly sending a freezing temperature around the room. Shiva took the form of a pale blue woman and matching hair, giving off the image of ice and being cold. Wearing the blue bar-like top and a small pants and heals, she didn't need a weapon as she lifted her hand to use Diamond Dust.

The bad guy was immediately frozen by the ice and when Tifa ran forward, punching the Gi, he shuddered into multiple pieces, following into the ground.

Zeke gave a smirk as Shiva disappeared and he and Tifa shared a high-five.

"Thank you, Zeke. Because of you, we survived." Bugen gave him a short bow.

Zeke scratched the side of his nose. "Tifa helped too, you know."

Tifa blushed and Bugen gave a laugh. "That she did, that she did," He turned to his grandson. "You have grown strong to, Nanaki."

"Oh yeah?" Red Xlll looked pleased.

"Now I know that it wasn't a mistake bringing you here. Come, I have something that I want to show you."

They all walked through the new hole in the wall and came face to face with another large cliff of rocks.

"This is…" Red Xlll was wide-eyed.

"The warrior who fought against the Gi. He kept them from taking even one step into Cosmo Canyon." Bugen told them. " "But he was never able to return to town. Look, Nanaki, look at your father, at the warrior, Seto."

(I have the sudden urge to watch the original Yu-Gi-Oh now, lol)

At the top of the cliff was a beast, much like Red Xlll, made of stone with multiple spears sticking out of him.

Zeke was silent and Tifa felt a tear in her eye.

(I absolutely LOVE the music at this part in the game. If you don't know it, find a walkthrough on YouTube and listen to it.)

"That…that's…Seto?" Red Xlll sounded so surprised.

"Seto continued to fight the Gi tribe here…to protect this Canyon. Even after the Gi' poisonous arrows turned his body to stone. Even after they all ran away…Seto, continued to protect us. And he continues to protect us, even now."

"Even now," Red Xlll repeated.

"You thought that he was a coward and ran away. But he, alone risked his life to protect Cosmo Canyon. That is your father, Seto."

Red Xlll turned to his grandfather. "That…that is Seto! Did mother know?"

"Oh, she knew," Bugen nodded. "The two of them made me promise to keep his cave shut. They asked me to seal it myself and not to tell a soul. They said we should forget about this cave." Red Xlll lowered his head and Bugen turned to Zeke and Tifa. "Would you mind leaving the two of us alone?"

Tifa took another look at Seto before grabbing Zeke's hand and leading him out of the cave.

_**~Follow the morning star**_

_**A land where darkness failed**_

_**The passion left unholy**_

_**Now you found yourself**_

_**We have nowhere to go**_

_**No one to wish us well**_

_**A cry to find our home**_

_**Our stories they will tell**_

_**We're bored to death in heaven**_

_**And down alone in hell**_

_**We only want to be ourselves~**_

"**The Buggy's been fixed,"** Barret announced as Zeke and Tifa rejoined them around the fire. "And there's a cart on the back of it too so we won't be smushed together again. We can leave in the morning."

"Why wait?" Cloud asked, standing up. "We can go now."

"Nibelheim's not far," Claire agreed.

"So, this is it, Red Xlll." Aerith stood as well, sounding sad."

"That's just the way it goes." Barret said, standing up. "You came handy at many times."

Jeanne didn't say anything and just started moving towards the buggy.

"Wait for me! I'm coming too!" They all turned to see Red Xlll run up to the woman in white. Bugen was behind him.

"Jeanne, please look after Nanaki."

"What happened?" Cloud asked.

"I think I grew up a little," Red Xlll sounded happy. "That's what happened. So let's go!"

"Nibelheim," Jeanne said as she walked down the stairs. "Here we come."

**All right! Guess who's introduced in the next chapter? VINCENT VALENTINE! OMG, I can't wait! Sephiroth and Vincent have always been my fave characters since the first time I played this game! I can't wait!**

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	22. Chapter 21

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**For Loveless, I read your review and guess what? Kingdom Hearts is definitely on my list. I have a list of the games that I plan on writing and I will give you guys some when FF7 is over. But yes, Kingdom Hearts is on the list :) ****That's also the reason I plan on doing Final Fantasy 7 and Final Fantasy 8 before writing Kingdom Hearts.**

**Yes, I should just go ahead and let you know; the Final Fantasy characters that I created are going to be brought back into Kingdom Hearts. Now you just have to wait, lol!**

**God, I couldn't wait for this chapter! Vincent is my favorite character(next to Sephiroth) and I REALLY REALLY REALLY enjoyed writing this part with him! He's gonna be in ever chapter after this now(you don't know how much I adore this man!) and it's gonna be a whole hell of a lot of fun!**

**Chapter Twenty-One**

**Vincent Valentine**

**Jeanne's eye widened. **Something was wrong. Very, Very wrong. Nibelheim was no longer burnt to the ground like it had been years ago. Sure, she felt that it would be normal for whoever survived to rebuild the place after such a long time, but that wasn't what was wrong. She couldn't place it by just staring around at the town, but she could feel it.

"I thought that this place was supposed to be burnt down," Zeke was the first to speak while the twins and Tifa looked around in shock and Jeanne just stood there with the others.

"The whole town was destroyed by Sephiroth and Sienna." Cait Sith told the man beside him. "At least, that's what I heard."

Red Xlll turned and looked at the blonds. "Did you lie to us?"

"No!" Cloud looked at him like he was crazy. "There was no way…I…I remember the intense heat of the flames."

"But you said that the whole town was burnt!" Barret looked at the man.

"All right, all right," Yuffie put her hands on her hips and looked at the trio. "What really happened?"

"We're not lying!" Claire insisted, still staring around the town. There was Tifa's house. The Inn. The Mansion looming over the background…The MANSION!

"This was…this was all burnt down," Tifa decided to speak. "Why…why is my house still there?"

"That is strange," Aerith wanted to be heard. "Why is it still here?"

"Dumb question." Zeke said as he yawned. "Someone rebuilt it. It's been five years. That's common sense." He took a step forward. "Let's ask around. Maybe they can tell us something."

Everyone agreed and split up, going to all the buildings and asking questions. Everyone in the town claimed that they had lived here all their lives and there was no fire that ever destroyed the town.

Jeanne took notice of the several black caped figures that were standing outside of the Nibelheim mansion, just staring at it, but she ignored them, just as she ignored the rest of the town, as she stood outside the mansion, grinning.

This was where she and Zack first kissed and admitted that they had feelings for the others….and this was also where everything fell to pieces. She could feel something inside the Mansion, calling to her. And for some reason, it felt like Sephiroth and Sienna. Did that mean that they were here?

She remembered when she and Zack first entered the mansion with Cloud and Claire. Claire had told her that it was haunted and she planned on capturing ghosts. Too bad that there wasn't any to find. It was just the town being scaredy cats.

Movement beside her made her turned her head before glancing back to the building.

Claire had decided to join in on gazing at the mansion as well. The blonde's hands were balled into fists. She had been waiting for this since she was a child. Every day she thought about the man that floated around in her dreams. He was still there in the tube of blue liquid, begging for help and wanting to be left free. She still longed to help him and she still hoped that he was, somehow, still in the room below the mansion, waiting for her to reach him.

She had almost cracked the safe code last time. She only had one more number to go and she prayed that the book she had left everything in was still there.

It didn't take too long for everyone else to join them around the place. They each claimed to run into at least two or three other people in black capes around the town, mumbling something about Sephiroth, Sienna, and some kind of reunion that they were trying to make it to.

"What is it that we're all staring at?" Zeke asked, crossing his arms.

"I…I've got to go save him," Claire mumbled. "I'm not going to leave him here this time." She took off into the mansion, and the others followed. Everyone spread out around the mansion, taking in their own looks around the messed up place. It was Zeke, Tifa, and Cloud that were with Claire. She quickly led them up to the room with the large green safe on the top floor. She was busy, shoving through some files and books as Zeke glanced around the room.

"Who the hell is Claire talking about?" He asked. "Who is she trying to free?"

"When we were younger, my sister found a door in the basement that she could never open. Since then, she's been having these dreams about a man begging for help from inside some sort of tube. It was like he was having experiments done on him and trying to get out. When we returned to Nibelheim five years ago we found this note. We have to open the safe to get the key to the door in the basement to save him."

"He's probably dead by now. Why even bothe-"

"Found it!" Claire popped up out of the pile of books with a sheet of paper in her hand. Standing up, everyone moved around her to take a peek at the sheet.

_**I must get rid of all those that stand in the way of my research. Even that one from the Turks. I scientifically altered him, and put his to sleep here in the basement. If you want to find him, then search the area. But…this is merely a game I thought of. It is not necessary for you to participate if you don't want to.**_

_**Move the dial on the safe carefully, but quickly. You have 20 seconds. You cannot go past the numbers while turning. The 4 hints for the numbers are…**_

_**The lid of the box with the most oxygen.**_

_**Behind the Ivory's short of tea and ray.**_

_**The creek in the floor near the chair on the second floor…then to the left five steps, up nine steps, left two steps, and up six steps.**_

_**The fourth row has been written in invisible ink. Dial 4 is Right 97.**_

_**The number is Right 36, Left 10, Right 59, and Right 97. **_

Claire frowned. "I never got the last number," She told them. "I never had Right 59. How did that get there?"

"What are you talking about?" Cloud asked, walking over. He took a look at it. "That's definitely not mine or you your handwriting. And it doesn't look like Jeanne's either and I very much doubt that Sephiroth or Sienna did that."

"Who else was here, though?" Tifa wondered.

With an idea in his head, Zeke frowned and took a step forward to look at it. He then smiled. He recognized that writing anywhere. Zack. He had come back some time to give her the last number. Closing his eyes, Zeke gave a swift sigh. "Well, whoever did it must mean that he wanted to help you. Be grateful and appreciate it. You won't find it often anymore."

Claire nodded and turned to the same. "All right, I'll take it. Now," She glanced at the sheet again. "It says that I have 20 seconds. Zeke, time it please."

"Why do I gotta do it?" The man asked, crossing his arms.

"'Cause you're here now just do it." Tifa giggled and Cloud smirked as Zeke mumbled under his breath as he looked at his watch. Claire moved quickly and carefully. "36 Right. 10 Left. 59 Right. And 97 Right." She said aloud as she moved the dial. It clicked. Claire jumped back to pull open the door with a huge smile when the door burst open on its own.

"What in the hell, is that?" Zeke asked, his mouth hanging open.

The creature was multiple colors and the weirdest looking monster that they had seen to date.

"You in a mirror." Claire decided to grin. Zeke continued to stare at the creature as he lifted his middle finger at her. She turned back to the creature, pulling out her sword. "All right now, Mr. Lost Number, I-"

"Lost Number?" Tifa asked, dropping he fists slightly. "Where do you come up with these names?"

"I don't know, I just do!" Claire flushed as Cloud pulled p his own blade. "Now let's beat it up so I can get the key to the basement!"

Jeanne heard the roar from downstairs with Barret and they shared a look as grunts and shouts followed it.

"What did they do this time?" Barret demanded as they hurried out of the room. Across the stairs above them they came to a stop as Cloud slid back across the floor, a large multicolored beast chasing after him as Zeke chased it with a battle yell sounding as loud as he could get it.

Jeanne hung her head and Barret's mouth dropped open as Cait Sith, Aerith, Red Xlll, and Yuffie joined them. None of them could say anything as Ifrit came floating after the creature, Claire following it with a mad grin and poor Tifa was left in the doorway of the room they had just been in, just staring after them and shaking her head.

Cloud's Cross-Slash finished off the monster as the others all moved up the stairs.

"Where did that thing come from?" Yuffie asked, poking it with her foot.

"From inside the safe!" Claire looked at Jeanne. "We opened it!" She held up a silver key in victory. You could just feel the happiness and success pouring off of her like she was child that just got its first pet. "Now let's go get him!"

Claire took off down the hall and into another room. Jeanne and Cloud knew where she was going and after her they went, leaving the others to follow behind them. Back down the rickety secret path in that one room they had to be careful with the wooden path. The path was starting to warp and become rotten. Barret was nervous to go down it, but he was fine. Claire was multiple steps ahead of them all; but she had waited for them at the door. She was pacing; Jeanne couldn't help but laugh at her when they all came to a stop.

Claire turned to the large door and held her breath as she entered the key and turned it. She feared that it would always do what it had done before but this time, the door opened. Claire felt her hands shaking as she slowly pushed the door open. The others, who learned the tale from Cloud the night before, decided to stay back and watch from outside as the brother and Jeanne entered the room with her.

There were multiple coffins in the spider-web-infested room, but the only coffin that meant anything to Claire was the one in the middle of the room, closed. It was almost as if it had been waiting on her and so, she stepped towards it. She reached out to touch the top of it, to pull it off, but -

"…To wake me from the nightmare…" A man's deep voice sounded around the room; it sent shivers down Claire's spine. The three of them jumped as the lid was thrown off of the coffin. "Who is it!" A man sat up from the velvet cloth of the coffin, and stared at them all.

Jeanne pulled a confused face. Why did this man…make her think of Sienna? Why did they…look similar? Or was it just because they had the same colored hair?

When the man would stand, he would reach 6 feet tall with long, silky black hair like Sienna and crimson eyes. There was a red hand on his head with his hair falling over it. He wore a tattered red cape, held in place over his shoulders and his lower face by several buckles. Beneath the cape he wore everything else in black from his neck to his feet with several more straps and buckles. There was a gun and a holster on his right leg and pointed, gold sabatons on his feet. On his left arm was a golden gauntlet with claw-like fingers.

No. It was something else. Something else about him. Jeanne could practically see Sienna's face in this man. But why?

"…Never seen you before." The man voiced. "You must leave."

Claire just stared at him, lost for words so Cloud took a step forward for his sister. "You were having a nightmare." He told him.

"Hmph…a nightmare…?" The man glanced down at his legs for a moment. "My sleep has given me time to atone."

"Atone?" Claire finally found her voice.

The man's head slowly lifted and turned. She held her breath as his red eyes seemed to burn into hers. Thank God he looked away' her knees were starting to shake.

"I have nothing to say to strangers." The man replied. "Get out." For some reason, that hurt Claire a lot more than it should have. "This mansion is the beginning of your nightmare."

Jeanne scoffed. "Tell me about it," She sighed.

The man turned back to her. "What do you know?"

It was Cloud that answered this time. "Like you said, this mansion is the beginning of a nightmare. No, it's not a dream, it's for real. Sephiroth and Sienna have lost their minds. They found the secrets that were hidden in this mansion and they…" He was cut off by the man in red.

"Sephiroth! And Sienna!"

All four looked at each other and asked the same thing. "You know Sephiroth and Sienna?"

The man in red finally stood up and Jeanne took notice of the gun that was hanging on his right leg.

"You start first." He told the three of them.

Cloud and Claire both turned and look at Jeanne. She couldn't help but give a little smile as she opened her mouth. As she stood there, looking at and talking to the man, the more he looked like Sienna. Was it strange to say that a man looked like a woman?

"…That's how it was." Cloud said after Jeanne had finished.

"So Sephiroth knows he was created…Sienna too." The man in red thought for a moment. "And about the Jenova project?"

"Yes," Claire couldn't take her eyes off the man. "They both disappeared about five years ago but they've just popped back up again. They're doing everything that they can to try to find the Promised Land."

"Now it's your turn." Cloud pointed at him.

But the hottie in red (yes he is a very extreme hottie) decided that he wasn't going to say anything. "Sorry…I cannot speak."

"Hey! That's dirty!" Aerith yelled from the door the others were all watching from.

The man sat back down in the coffin. "Hearing your stories, has added upon me yet another sin. More nightmares shall come to me now, more than I previously had." He laid down. "Now…please leave." He went to lie down but Claire moved forward, throwing her hands on the edge of the coffin.

"Who are you?" She asked. She had to ask. This was the man that had been haunting her dreams since she was a child! She couldn't just find him and then leave him here!

"I was with…the ShinRa manufacturing Department in Administrative Research, otherwise known as-"

"The Turks," Jeanne said. He nodded.

"Tell us your name. Please." Claire was practically begging the guy. Jeanne could tell that he didn't want to say anything else and hid a smirk as he sighed.

"Valentine. Vincent Valentine."

"Valentine?" Jeanne's eyes grew wide as her hand lowered and gripped the bag she constantly carried. ~Could it be…?~

"You were a Turk?" Cloud demanded.

"Formerly. I have no affiliation with ShinRa now." He looked at the three of them. "And you?"

Jeanne lowered her hand off of the bag. "Jeanne Rush. Formerly of SOLDIER and student under Sienna and Sephiroth." She bit her tongue as the twins introduced themselves.

"You three were also with ShinRa?" Vincent asked. "Then do you know Lucrecia?"

"Who?" The twins echoed each other.

"Lucrecia." He repeated.

Cloud and Claire shook their heads but Jeanne glanced away. Vincent stared at her in silence before she sighed. "I don't know her personally, but I know who you're talking about. She's the one that gave birth to Sephiroth."

"Wasn't Jenova Sephiroth's mother?" Cloud asked.

Jeanne shook her head as Vincent responded. "That isn't completely wrong, but just a theory."

Jeanne glanced down at the books on her side. ~Not anymore~

"He was born from a beautiful lady," Vincent continued. "That lady was Lucrecia." They could all see just from that that there was a little something special to Vincent about Lucrecia. "She was an assistant to Professor Gast of the Jenova Project. Beautiful…Lucrecia."

Jeanne narrowed her eyes. Gast was just as big a part of this as Hojo was. Half of her was rather glad that Sienna killed that man all those years ago; too bad it wasn't before Aerith was born.

"A human experiment?" Cloud asked.

"They both were," Jeanne told the man beside her. "I've told you this. Several times."

"I don't remember ever hearing about that," The Blond replied.

"I couldn't…I couldn't stop her." Vincent's tone fell as he stared down at the claw on his left hand. "That was my sin. I let the one I loved, the one I respected most, face the worst."

Jeanne felt a sudden, small connection to the man in red. She felt responsible for what happened to Zack as well, she just didn't seem to think that just sleeping would forgive her for it.

"So you decided to sleep?" Zeke stuck his head into the room. "How fucking stupid does that sound?"

Vincent gave him a glared before the lid of the coffin shut again; Claire moved her hands just in time.

"Hey, wait!" Claire tried to push the lid off. "Wait a second!"

"Just go!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." Zeke decided to take a step into the room now, a frown on his face. "So you're telling me, Mr. Valentine, that after all that's happened, you're going to just lay there and take it? You're not going to do anything?"

The lid of the coffin shot off again and Vincent sat back up. "What I do has nothing to do with you."

"No, but it's got something to do with her," Everyone looked surprised when he pointed at Claire. Vincent looked at her again. "This girl has been having you floating in a blue tube haunting her dreams since she was a child and she has been trying for years to free you from this damn room. And now, when she finally gets to set you free, we find out that you weren't even trying to get free and that you're 'sleeping' away your sins?" He demanded. "How sad." Zeke's arm wrapped around Claire's shoulder. "Come on. This was just a waste of time. Let emo-vampire boy stay her and 'sleep away his sins'." He led the woman away and Jeanne scratched her head as the others all filed down the hall.

"Sometimes…there is a very big difference between Zack and his cousin." She glanced at the man in the coffin again. "Forgive us for interrupting, Vincent." She didn't really know what else to say and so she followed after the others, thinking in silence.

~Vincent Valentine~ she told herself. She remembered reading about him in one of the books that Sienna had given her; Gast's Diary. She remembered what it was that she had read.

_**I soon began to see her as my own daughter. Or rather, a granddaughter due to the cells that I used from Grimoire Valentine's son, Vincent. I shall never tell him.**_

That explained why Vincent looked like her. Or rather, why Sienna looked like him. Whether or not it was willing, that man was Sienna's biological father.

~Damn~ Jeanne shook her head. ~All this shit is just a pain in the ass. So many crazy things and outcomes…I'm surprised that I haven't gone crazy yet.~

That also meant that Vincent was in his fifties if he was experimented on by Hojo BEFORE Sephiroth and Sienna were born. This man had one hell of a life and he still only looked like he was in his 20's.

Jeanne gave a small, sad smile. "ShinRa just takes things too far."

Jeanne moved through the lab, trying not to look at the busted tubes that she and Zack broke out of three years ago. They all stood there, looking around the lab but the moment that Cloud's eyes landed on the hall that led to the library, he ran forward.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud yelled.

"Sienna!" His sister followed.

The two of them were in that library again. Sephiroth was standing there, staring up at the ceiling while Sienna was sitting on the desk, staring down the hall at them all.

"Being here brings back memories." Sephiroth decided to say. He looked at Cloud. "Are you going to participate in the Reunion?"

"We don't even know what the Reunion is!" Cloud growled.

"Jenova will be there," Sienna grinned, locking eyes with Jeanne. "She will join it and once again become the calamity from the skies."

"A calamity from the skies?" Zeke asked, taking a step forward. "You mean that these bozos were wrong and she wasn't an Ancient? Oh, burn!" Zeke turned to the man beside him, holding his hand out. "Cough up the twenty, man. I told you they were wrong. I win!"

Barret grumbled and pulled out the money and gave it to the man beside him. Tifa slapped a hand to her face.

"…I see." Sephiroth frowned. "I don't think any of you newcomers have the right to participate, but the old ones," He looked at Jeanne and she frowned. "They are always allowed. Go North past My. Nibel if you wish to find out."

"Reunion? Calamity of the skies?" Cloud whispered to himself.

Sephiroth then threw something and it hit Cloud in the face as the silver-haired man took off in the air.

Sienna still sat there though, watching them. Jeanne stayed silent for a moment, locking eyes with the woman across from her.

"I'm sure that you read Gast's diary yourself." Jeanne finally decided to speak.

"I have." She nodded.

"Then, you know all about Valentine." Sienna's smile told her that she did. "We found him."

Claire raised an eyebrow as Sienna's face fell. What the hell was going on?

"You have, have you?" Sienna glanced away for a moment before she began to slip down, disappearing into the table and floor. "Well, that really holds no interest to me now, does it?"

"Damn!" Zeke whistled as Sienna melted away on the desk. "Evil bad guy or not, Sienna is still one sexy-"

Jeanne clapped her hands over Yuffie's ears so she couldn't hear the rest of that sentence. She was still only 15, after all.

"There's nothing that we can do here," Tifa decided to say. "Sienna and Sephiroth have left so we might as well continue on the way we were."

"Sephiroth said to make our way over Mt. Nibel." Claire said as her brother picked up the Destruction Materia that Sephiroth had thrown at him. "We can lead you all can't we, Tifa?"

"Indeed we can."

"Then let's hurry up and leave!" Yuffie went running down the hall and past the door that Vincent was in. Claire sighed. She wanted to talk to him more, but it was apparent that he wanted nothing to do with them. And after all those years…

Was she still going to see him in that tube while she slept at night?

"Wait!" Everyone turned to see Vincent standing behind them. Claire couldn't help but grin and get excited. "If I go with you will I meet Hojo?"

~Why is it that everyone's after Hojo?~ Claire thought to herself, looking at Jeanne and Zeke. ~What did he…oh wait, that's right…~

"Dunno," Cloud shrugged. "But we're after him and Sephiroth and Sienna. So, I guess sooner or later…"

Vincent turned, muttering that woman's name again. He faced them again. "All right. I've decided to go with you."

"Wait, what?" Barret raised an eyebrow.

"Why should we let you come?" Zeke asked. " "After all, you were an ass in your little tomb back there."

Tifa and Aerith shared a look and Yuffie agreed with the man next to her." Vincent replied as if Zeke hadn't said anything.

"Do as you like," Jeanne told him, turning to continue down the path. "But be warned; Hojo is mine.":

"The hell he is!" Zeke hurried off after the woman in white. "Hojo is mine! No one is killing him but me!"

Claire shook her head with a sigh as they all moved to follow after them. She glanced over her shoulder to see that Vincent had decided to stay in the back of the group and paused to fall back and talk to him, but cloud grabbed his sister's arm and dragged her behind him; anything and everything coming out of his mouth to start a conversation.

She sighed and continued to walk. She would attack Vincent with questions the very next moment that she could.

**Damn! I told you that was going to be long! Two more characters left guys! Two more and we have the whole group! You have only a few more chapters before the first disk is done with(and Aerith is deadlol) and I will let you know when it is done. Thank you for reading so far and it won't be long for the next chapter. **

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	23. Chapter 22

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Loveless: 1, I cannot tell you how many times I've dreamt about Vincent Valentine, XD and 2, to answer your question again (;)) I plan on doing all the Kingdom Hearts. Birth By Sleep, 1, Chain of Memories, 358/2 Days, 2, and I'm thinking about Re-Coded as well, but I'm not sure yet. I have to beat it first and see what it's about, lol. And I can guarantee you that the moment the 3****rd**** game comes out it will be added to the list :) (well, as long as it comes out before I hit my 30's 'cause I'll feel like a pedophile for wanting to jump Riku XD)**

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

**A Little Break**

"**Let's take a little break here," **Jeanne called out to them. They were standing just outside what was once the Nibelheim reactor. Both the Strifes stared up at it, remembering what happened there. Tifa seemed to be remembering things as well so Jeanne turned from them.

"Let's eat something!" Yuffie cried, jumping onto Zeke's back and began to dig through the bag that he was carry. "Food! Food! Food!"

Red Xlll, Barret, and Aerith were trying to talk to Vincent(who was doing the best that he could to answer in short, one word replies). Cait Sith was on his own, just watching the four of them and Jeanne gave a small smile. Now was the perfect time to think about what Liana had told her.

"Cait," she called out, moving away from the others and towards a set of rocks close to the Reactor but far away to where the others couldn't hear them. "Come here. I've got a question for you."

The cat turned in confusion for a moment as he hopped off his doll and made his way over. "What can I help you with, Lass?"

She fought the urge to go ahead and announce everything and instead decided to play a game with him. "I wanted to know what you thought."

"What I thought?"

"What you thought about my sister being a double-sided companion."

Cait Sith titled his head. "What do you mean?"

"My sister is a Turk, as I'm sure that you all already know. She does well on her job, but she also has helped me along the way. She's sent me warnings and information from ShinRa," She lied. "What do you think about that? Do you think that I'll be able to talk her over to our side?"

Cait was silent for a moment, rubbing his chin as he thought. "That's hard to say," He finally answered, his voice holding a serious tone now. "Your sister has people on both sides of the problem that she cares about. In the end, it will come down to who she cares most for, though who she leaves behind will most likely hurt her for a long, long time."

Jeanne nodded her head. That was a good point. Jeanne would love to have Jena on her side, helping her keep Sephiroth and Sienna from destroying the planet, but at the same time, if that was to make her leave everything else she loved behind and lose, she didn't know what she would rather have her do. In just a few words, Cait Sith had turned a small question into another problem she had to deal with in her head.

There was no way that Cait Sith as NOT Reeve Tuesti.

"Don't worry, Lass," Cait grinned again. "Things will work out in the end for the best for us all!"

She dropped her head on top of the Cait's head and gave it a pat with a smirk. "Thanks Reeve. You always were able to answer my questions the right way."

"It's not a prob-" Cait Sith froze and looked up at the smirking woman beside him in horror. He jumped up to run away but Jeanne grabbed his tail.

"As I said, Jena gave me some warnings and information, Reeve." She held the robot in its place as they were ignored by the others. "Liana told me on orders from Jena when we ran into her and the others right before Gongaga."

Cait lifted his head and stared at her in silence for a moment. "Then why didn't you say anything before now?"

She let go of him and shrugged. "I don't know. It didn't seem to be a problem at the time. It still doesn't. I know that you don't agree with what Rufus and his father were planning to do. Hell, Jena's only going along with it because…" She shook her head, not wanting to get more into that than they already were at the moment. "You just don't hit me as a bad guy, Reeve. I know that you're not. I've known you for almost 11 years…if I didn't see you for 7 of those years." She glanced down at the robot. "As long as you don't try to kill us or stop us then I don't have a problem with you continuing on with us, understand?" The robot just stared at her. "I won't say a thing to the others, either. It'll be out little secret."

The cat nodded this time that smile on his face again. "I appreciate it, Lassie! It's good that you're the leader! The others would have flipped out and destroyed me!" He referred to the robotic body.

Jeanne giggled with a nod and turned back to the others as Cait Sith went back to his doll. Yuffie and Zeke were still fighting, Tifa, Barret, and Claire were talking as Red Xlll headed over to Cait Sith, Aerith had decided to move to Cloud who finally pulled his attention from the Reactor, and Vincent…Vincent was making his away over to her.

Watching as the man in red sat on the large rock next to her, Jeanne found herself thinking about Genesis again. Reaching her hand down, she grasped the handle of the sword that Genesis had given her three years ago. She hadn't used another sword since and she surely didn't let anything happen to it. Her thoughts were lost on Genesis and Angeal until Vincent's voice cut through to her.

"A SOLDIER, huh?"

She turned her head with a small, sad grin. "Yep. I was until everything happened, anyway."

Vincent stared at her in silence for a moment. His eyes seemed to be burning into her; it seemed that they did that to everyone. "I can tell." He said.

"Tell what?" She looked confused for a moment.

"I can tell that tests were performed on you just as they were on me. Not the same, but I can still tell. They were performed on the two of them as well." He gave a nod to the blond twins.

Jeanne nodded. "Unfortunately. I would appreciate it if you didn't say anything about the tests. They don't know anything about them."

Vincent gave a small nod. "What did they do to you?"

"I'm not so sure, but I'm sure that we'll find out sooner or later." She glanced up at the sky. "It can't hide from me forever." She turned back to the man. "So, you were asleep for how long? Over 30 years?"

Vincent was silent for a moment. "You know a lot." He replied. "Over 30. Yes. Sephiroth wasn't born yet…and Sienna was just a future plan." He paused for a moment, thinking. "Sephiroth was made from…from Hojo and…Lucrecia," It was almost as if it pained Vincent to say that. "Then who was it that Sienna was made from?"

So, he didn't know, did he? Too bad.

"Believe it or not, Vincent," Jeanne told the man beside her. "Sienna was made from you."

"What do you mean?" Vincent demanded in surprise.

"I don't know how, but Sienna was created with your blood. Hojo may have given it to Gast or Lucrecia but it is on file that Sienna is your daughter. It's a shame that you couldn't have been there for her. If you had been, things may have turned out differently there for her." She then scowled. "That would be Hojo's fault again…just like everything else is!"

Vincent couldn't really think of anything to say to that. Sienna…his daughter? How did that happen? How could that have happened? Hojo didn't know when to stop and keep his nose out of things. The man was a crazy man that claimed that he was a genius. A scientist! But that man was neither. He was just a monster. A monster that would do all he could to control the world. A monster that had to be stopped.

Jeanne took another look at the man beside her and gave a small smile to the concentrated look on his face. She stood up to her feet. "Everything will be all right in the end. Hojo will get what's coming to him, just as all the others will be." She looked at Claire. The blonde woman wore, while watching her and Vincent as they talked, a slight frown on her face. Jeanne closed her eyes. "Do me a favor and thank Claire. Zeke spoke the truth when he talked about how much she tried to free you from the dungeon. You seemed to have found a way to haunt her dreams for the last ten or so years. Since she first found the door." Vincent turned his gaze to the blonde woman as well as Jeanne walked away. "You should enjoy talking to her. She's not quite like the others."

Jeanne opened her eyes and walked off towards the Reactor herself, wanting a moment of silence, but she didn't get it. Believe it or not, Cloud stood beside her, leaving Aerith to talk to the others.

Vincent watched after her for a moment, thoughts and actions running through his head. So far, he could tell that many things had changed since he was first put to sleep and he had only been outside the Mansion for two hours. That just made him wonder what else had gone wrong with the land and how much ShinRa had to do with it. Most likely all of it.

A shadow over his face made Vincent lift his head. "Are you all right?"

Vincent glanced up and took in the sight of Claire strife as she stood before him.

She had pulled her long blonde hair into a ponytail with a small, red flower sticking out of it(thanks to Yuffie as they made their way up the mountain) and her Mako-eyes were full of worry and concern. Jeanne had kept to her word and changed the clothes the twins had been wearing. Claire was now in in along-sleeved, dark blue top with the images of a fire burning across it from her left hip. In black leather pants and shoes, her sword was on her hip with 2 belts. There was a thin, silver chain hanging around her neck.

Vincent glanced away. "I'm fine." He glanced at her again as she sat down in Jeanne' previous spot. She gazed at the others for a moment. Vincent didn't know what to say and so he turned his head away. Apparently this woman had been trying to open the dungeon to free him since she was a child. What exactly was he supposed to say to that?

"Look," Her voice made him glance back at her. "About what the others are saying. You don't have to thank me." Claire gazed up at the sky. "I'm just glad that you're safe. I was worried that you weren't alive any longer since it was nearly 20 years since I first found the door. I'm just…I'm just glad that you're safe and free now." Vincent stared at her in silence and his face blank. "And thank you for now returning back to the coffin to sleep some more. If you had, I might have had to drag you out of there later tonight."

Vincent looked surprised(which he didn't look often) before his face fell back to its cold-stone look. This woman was thanking him? That didn't sound right.

"Anyway. You met Jeanne Rush," Claire continued on before he could say anything. She lifted her hand and began to point out the others with them. "She's the little leader of our group, you could say. That guy is Barret Wallace. He's the Leader of a group called AVALANCHE. He gets mad easily so it's best not to argue with him."

Vincent glanced at the large man she was pointing to. ~AVALANCHE is still around, are they?~

"Over there you have Red Xlll. He's a sensible guy to talk to when you have problems and he can keep secrets. Cait Sith is the robotic Cat next to him. He LOVES to tell fortunes so you might not want to get caught alone with him." She giggled. "Over there is Yuffie Kisaragi. She's a ninja from Wutai and you might want to keep a good hand on your Materia when you're around her," She warned him. "The woman in pink is Aerith Gainsborough," Vincent glanced at Claire at the sound of her voice and spotted the frown. What was that about? "She sold flowers in Midgar before ShinRa came after her because she was an Ancient."

~She's an Ancient?~ Vincent asked himself silently as he looked back at the woman who was talking to Barret and Yuffie.

"Those two right there are Tifa Lockhart and Zeke Fair. Tifa is a childhood friend of mine and my brother's and a member of AVALANCHE as well while Zeke is an archeologist that knows Jeanne from before my brother I and met her. Tifa's a real sweetheart that will do anything to protect those important to her and Zeke, he's…he's someone you get used to after a while."

Vincent gave a small nod, fighting a smirk.

"And that blondie over there with Jeanne is my brother, Cloud. He's the one you have to worry about. He can be a jerk sometimes, and cold, but Jeanne can keep him under wraps even more than I can."

Vincent looked at the blond standing beside Jeanne. They seemed to be in a heated argument, but Jeanne shook her head and clamed herself down. He couldn't hear them but from the looks on their faces and how low they were, it was something important.

"So, you want to kill Hojo as well?" Claire asked him.

Vincent glanced at her again. "Yes."

"Why? Was he the one…" she didn't have to finish as the man beside her nodded. "Why?"

He was silent for a moment, thinking about everything that happened. "I…I tried to stop him from creating Sephiroth. Lucrecia was…"

"Important to you?" Vincent nodded and Claire looked the man over again. "What happened to her?"

"She is most likely dead," He replied softly, standing up. Claire's eyes fell on the gun hanging off his leg. She took notice of the charm hanging from it; it was three dog heads. Something told her that the revolver held three barrels and was named Cerberus. He went to walk away but he paused and turned to face her again. "Thank you."

Claire looked up at him with a smile as he continued to walk off from her. She couldn't help but feel like her heart was going to pop up out of her chest. She had been dealing with this man in her head for years, banging against glass and begging to be released. She hadn't been expecting him to act like he was so far. But then again, thirty years in a tube and coffin could make people distant from others.

Claire would fix that though. She would drag that man back into life even if he was hanging on by tooth and nail. She would save him over and over again if she had to!

"**So, this is where it all went down, is it**?" Zeke was looking up at the Reactor.

Tifa followed his gaze. "Yeah," She replayed the moment of Sephiroth killing her father in her mind. It brought tears to her eyes. "This…this was where it happened. Four years they were locked up and tested upon." She sighed and shook her head. "Hojo is a monster."

"Everyone has their monstrous side," Zeke grumbled, grabbing the obsidian stone hanging on his throat. "It all depends what you do with it. Hojo…he chose the wrong path and that led…that led Sephiroth and Sienna down the same path." He sighed. "If things had happened differently…" He shook his head. "I know what they're doing is wrong…but I can't fully blame them for it." He looked at the woman beside him. "I really can't. They were forced into this by learning what they were. What Hojo had made them. I understand that they want to kill ShinRa and all of them…but the entire world is just a bit too much. Still, I can understand why…just think about how they felt when they learned…learned what they were."

Tifa watched him in silence for a moment. She had never thought about how Sephiroth and Sienna had felt. She just felt anger and hatred because they destroyed everything that she had held dear. She never thought about what the two of them felt when they lost everything. Their entire world shattered when they came to Nibelheim. They were hurt. Full of hatred. Wanted revenge against the ones that used them like some sort of lab rat. She understood what Zeke was saying, and she was sure that Jeanne felt the same way, but at the same time…Tifa couldn't find herself forgiving the two of them.

"You, you have a kind heart, Zeke. You look at both sides of the story but," She lowered her head. "But I can't see myself seeing what you mean. Sephiroth and Sienna destroyed my friends. My entire village. They took almost everything from me."

Zeke turned and placed a hand on Tifa's shoulder. "I know…and I'm not asking you to see it. It's not going to stop me from attacking them. They're trying to destroy the planet and I will keep them from doing so even if I die in the process. But maybe…" He turned at looked at Jeanne as she turned to walk away from Cloud. "Maybe if we can talk Sienna out of it…then she will be able to talk Sephiroth out of it. Maybe."

**Jeanne stared up at the Reactor as Cloud stood beside her. **She didn't really know what to say so she stayed silent. The blonde hadn't really talked to her since Gongaga, so she definitely wasn't going to be the first to say anything. Childish, yes, but she didn't really care. She had more things to worry about than someone not talking to her. Like how they were going to get to the Reactor.

For some reason, her mind went to either calling her sister, or going to see an old friend that she hadn't talked to in seven years. Well, you really couldn't call her a friend since they only met like, twice, but that was the closest thing that she could think of.

"Jeanne," Cloud's voice was calm, but she was getting a feeling of anger off of him. "Why do you and Aerith hate each other?"

Jeanne didn't look at him. "What makes you say that?"

He gave her a look. "It's kinda obvious with the way you act towards her and the way she talks about you." He paused for a moment, thinking. "She claims that this Zack person was her boyfriend."

Jeanne felt a fire light up in her and she turned to glare at the woman in pink as she talked to the others. "She does, does she?"

"I knew it," Cloud sighed. "This all has to do with this Zack person. Why?"

"The past is the past, Cloud. You should just leave it where it's at," Jeanne lied. She would never be able to forget the past. It would always be there, haunting her.

"What's the matter with you?" Cloud made her face him. "You used to tell me everything!" He paused. "Or were all them just lies to sustain me?"

Jeanne felt smacked and the fire inside her decided to grow harsher. "How dare you." She took a step towards him, forcing him back. "I have taken care of you and your sister since we have met. I've healed you. I've fed you. I've done everything I could to keep you two safe and the moment that this little bitch comes into the scene she twists your mind and pins you against me because of Zack. How dare you turn against me like this, Cloud! Have I told you everything? No. Will I tell you everything? Most likely not. But not once have I lied to you!" Technically she never lied. Not once had she said anything about what happened when they asked about it, she kept silent. She knew it would come back and bite her in the ass sooner or later, and the day it did she would be ready for it, but today didn't seem like the day. Aerith was just messing everything up…just like she had with Zack. This woman was really starting to get on Jeanne's nerves and she wasn't going to take it for much longer. "Think about it. Who are you going to believe? The one you've known for years, or the one you met a month ago?"

Jeanne didn't wait for the man's reply, but she saw the guilty look on his face as she turned to walk away.

"Let's go!" She shouted over her shoulder, her voice laced with anger and ice. As she continued on down the mountain, the others got up to follow her, an uneasy silence amongst the group.

"**Whoo! Damn I hate working when it's hot!"**

"Cid Highwind! I have told you to watch your mouth when around the children!"

The man in question looked up from the aircraft that he was working on. At the age of 32 and at the height of 5'10', Cid wore a navy blue jacket over a dark shirt and dark green pants. He wore a white pilot's scarf that covered most of his shirt and a pair of goggles that held a pack of cigarettes strapped underneath the band. He wore leather gloves and boots with short blond hair and blue eyes with a closely cropped beard.

"Dammit, Renee. You are your standards!" Cid cursed, kicking at the dirt.

Renee Sivil grinned and shooed the two kids away from the yard, telling them to go find their parents.

Renee was around the age of 29 and about 5'7' in height with long red hair she kept in a ponytail and bright green eyes. Dressed in a pair of black boots and blue jeans with a red tank top and a black Jacket tied around her waist. There was a bandage on the side of her neck and a pencil behind her ear.

"Well, if you didn't curse as much as you normally do then we wouldn't have a problem now, would we?"

Cid kicked at the dirt again, smart to keep his mouth shut as another woman ran out of the house and towards them.

"Cid! Renee!" The woman was Shera, a young scientist that lived with the two of them. She had long dark hair with classes and constantly walked around in a white lab coat. "We've got a problem!"

"What is it?" Both of them looked up, jumping to their feet from the aircraft immediately.

"There's two women here, claiming to be sent on orders from ShinRa!"

Cid heard that and went running through the house to get to the front door. Renee and Shera looked at each other and then sighed. This was what Cid had been waiting for. Cid wanted to be the first man into space and a few years ago, he almost was thanks to ShinRa Inc., but something was wrong with the engines and Shera was still below, working on it when the time for takeoff began. If Shera was still down there when the rocket went off, she would have died. Cid refused to let that happen and stopped the takeoff. ShinRa saw that as a failure and refused to invest for a second try. Cid had been dying to talk to ShinRa again and get the program up and running once more, but no luck had been given.

But maybe now…

Both women followed the man into the house to come face to face with two women, dressed in black suits, standing in their living room. The three of them shared a house; Shera and Renee sharing a room. The three of them got along very well; both women had grown used to Cid's actions and talking habits, secretly laughing at him when the two of them would settle down for the night.

"Renee, Shera, this is Jena and Liana." Cid introduced them. "Ladies, this is Renee and Shera."

Renee glanced the one known as Jena over carefully. She looked so familiar. Where had she seen her? "You look familiar. Have we met?"

Jena looked at her for a moment before a small smile popped across her lips. "I do not believe so, but perhaps it's my sister that you're referring to. We do look alike." She crossed her arms. "Does the name Jeanne ring a bell?"

That hit a button in Renee's head. "Yeah, that's the one." She then frowned. She had received news that Jeanne had died in the explosion of the Nibelheim Reactor. She hadn't even thought about that woman in seven years. She was surprised that she could even recognize someone that looked just like her.

"Well, I should tell her that I ran into an old friend," Jena grinned.

Renee pulled a confused face. "Huh?" Jeanne died, didn't she?

Before she could ask, Cid decided to take control. "Can I ask what ShinRa is doing here?" His voice was dripping with excitement that he failed at cloaking.

Liana grinned but kept silent as her companion answered. "We have come ahead of President ShinRa to announce that he will be arriving to speak with you tomorrow evening."

Renee could have sworn that she saw the twinkling in the man's eyes. The thought of ShinRa coming her instantly made them all think about the restarting of the rocket program. That's all Cid wanted. If they restarted the Program, then that man would die happily(after torturing Shera and Renee with his actions and words for another 80 or so years).

There was just something that Renee didn't like about this. A feeling that she got. Sure, she would do anything to get Cid into space, anything, but in the back of her mind something told her that she wouldn't like what was about to happen.

**Yay! Cid and Renee are now here! Cid is another of my fave characters. There's no way that you can't love that naughty-mouthed man, XD. In fact, FF7 has to have the best characters in all the games, but I love them all. I have favorite's in every FF game, just the most in number 7, lol :)**

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	24. Chapter 23

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**To answer another question Loveless, I am not so sure on that answer. I like writing Lemons and I believe I did a HELL of a good job with the one between Sephiroth and Sienna in Crisis Core, but I just can't see me writing one for Cid/Renee, Cloud/Jeanne, Claire/Vincent, Jena/Rufus or Jena/Reno, Liana/Rude, and I definitely ain't doing one for Tifa/Zeke, lol.**

**I'm not so sure, my mind might change, but at this moment I don't see it. Sorry for those who wanted it, lol**

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

**Rocket Town, Cid and Renee**

"What's that!" Cloud's eyes were wide as he stared up at the large rocket towering above the small town.

Jeanne glanced at the young man. The two of them hadn't said a thing to the other since their argument at the Reactor. She knew that the time to tell Cloud and Claire everything was getting closer and she knew she should tell them soon, but at the same time, she was afraid of their reactions. She was being stupid, but…

Claire tilted her head to the side. "Why did they make that?"

"ShinRa planned on going into Space years ago," Jeanne answered her. She looked at the green, titled craft. "It seems that it didn't get there. Why is that, I wonder?"

Barret shrugged. "Eh, who knows and who cares. Come on guys, I'm hungry and tired."

Everyone disbanded then, in search for food and an Inn, leaving Jeanne, Cloud, Claire, and Vincent standing at the entrance.

"I wanna go see it up close!" Claire grinned excitedly. It seemed her brother did too so they walked off. Jeanne sighed and followed them. She might not admit it but it was interesting to her as well. She turned, kinda surprised as Vincent walked beside her.

"You sure you don't want to go get something to eat with the others? Or maybe some rest?"

"I've been sleeping for the last thirty years," His deep voice replied. "I don't need it anymore."

She gave a sad smile. "I know that feeling." She mumbled.

Vincent paused and looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"Maybe I'll tell you sometime." She told him.

He stared after her for a moment before walking after the trio that had suddenly stopped by a fence.

"Would you look at that," Cloud grinned at the red aircraft that sat before them. "Do you think it actually flies?"

"There's a ShinRa logo on it," Claire commented as the four of them looked at the airplane.

"Tiny Bronco…" Jeanne read.

"This is cool." Cloud grinned.

"…Want me to keep watch?" Vincent asked.

Jeanne went to respond to Vincent's comment, why would they want to steal the airplane, but turned her head at the sound of a door shutting to see a woman with glasses on her face.

"Um, may I help?" the woman asked.

"No…" Cloud shook his head. "We were just looking at it."

"If you would like to use it, please ask the Captain. The Captain should be in the rocket. I'm Shera, and what are your names?"

"I'm Cloud."

"Vincent. My occupation is…" He paused and frowned. "Forget it."

Claire giggled at the man next to her. "Claire."

"Jeanne."

"Hmm…so you're not with ShinRa," She glanced Jeanne over. "You wouldn't happen to have…" She paused and then shook her head. "Never mind."

Jeanne raised an eyebrow. "Why are you expecting ShinRa?"

"I thought the approval for the reopening of the Space Program came. Two Turks showed up yesterday, announcing that President Rufus was on his way here. The Captain's been so restless all morning. Even Renee can't keep him calm like she normally can."

Jeanne gave a half a grin. The only Renee that she knew that was involved in Space Flight was one.

Yuffie's Aunt.

Shera turned, mumbling to herself as she re-entered the house.

"Rufus!" Cloud demanded.

"Oh dear," Claire scratched the back of her head. "What do we do now?"

Jeanne was silent for a moment as the three of them looked at her. "Well, I guess we go meet this Cid and ask him what's going on."

They all agreed and they made their way through the town, trying to ignore the shouts from the bar that they recognized to be Zeke and Barret and Yuffie. Claire was giggling at them even as they reached the rocket, planning on pulling jokes on the three of them while they were sleeping tonight. Cloud said it was a stupid idea, but Jeanne knew that he would be doing the pranks with her, no matter what.

They entered the Rocket to find a blond man and a redhead in the hall, talking and apparently working on something in the wall. The redhead caught sight of them first and stood. The man turned to see what she was looking at. He frowned.

"What're you guys doin' here?" He asked

"Would you happen to be the Captain?" Claire asked him.

"Captain? I'm the Captain." He nodded. "The name's Cid. Everyone just calls me 'Captain', though." He turned to the woman beside him. "This is-"

"Yuie Kisaragi," Jeanne smiled. "Or do you still rather be called Renee Sivil?"

They all (excluding Vincent) pulled surprised looks while Renee just grinned.

"I figured that you would be coming by sooner or later. Especially after your sister showed up last night."

"What?" Cid asked. "This was the one you were talking about last night?"

Renee nodded. "Jeanne Rush. It's been 7 years." She shook her head. "When your sister told me that you weren't dead last night, well, you can imagine just how surprised that I was."

"Oh, I'm sure. I'm also sure that I have a lot of explaining to do as well." Jeanne was relieved that Renee was all right. She didn't know her too well, but she liked the woman as far as she knew her.

Renee nodded. "Indeed."

"Okay, before you ladies get lost in your talking, hat d'ya want?" Cid asked, crossing his arms.

"Tell me about this rocket." Cloud said.

"Please." Claire added, giving her brother a glare.

"Wow. Not bad for a kid." It seemed like the blond man liked talking about the rocket. "Alright then, I'll explain it to you. You know ShinRa developed a lot of technological gadgets during the meaningless war, right?"

"Unfortunately," Claire frowned.

"Originally, ShinRa was a weapons manufacturer before becoming the Mako company it is today," Renee told them.

"They came up with a Rocket Engine," Cid continued. "There was so much excitement about the thought of going into outer space. Our dreams got bigger and bigger. They put a major budget into it and made prototype after prototype! Finally, they completed ShinRa No. 26. They chose the best pilot in ShinRa-no, in the world-me." Renee gave Cid a shove and he grinned. "Come on, you know it's true." The three girls there smiled before Renee frowned, glancing away. Cid then turned with his own depressed look. "And finally we get to the day of the launch. Everything was goin' well…" He then kicked the wall, his anger flaring up. "But, because of that dumb-ass Shera, the launch got messed up. That's why they became so anal! And so, ShinRa nixed their outer space exploration plans. After they told me how the future was Space Exploration and got my damn hopes up…DAMN THEM!" He growled. Kicking the wall again. He sighed. "Then, it was all over once they found out Mako Energy was profitable. They didn't even so much as look at Space Exploration. Money, moola, dinero! My dream was just a financial number for them!" He glanced around the hall as they all watched. Renee still wore her sad frown. "Look at this rusted Rocket. I was supposed to be the first man in space with this. Every day, it tilts a little bit more. At this rate, I don't know which will come first, this thing falling down or us getting' outta here." He let his head fall down. "My last hope is to talk to the President…"

"Is Rufus actually coming?" Jeanne as Renee and Cid swam around in their depression.

Renee nodded. "Yes. Actually, we had a woman come here yesterday and told us that he was. She claimed to be your sister, actually. Does Jena ring a bell?"

Cloud and Claire frowned as Vincent looked confused and Jeanne smiled. "Yeah, that would be my sister."

Renee smiled too. "She looked like you so that was how I put it together. I don't understand it though. I was told you were dead." She repeated herself, seeming to forget that they had already had this conversation moments before.

Jeanne gave Renee a look before answering with a laugh. "I'll tell you all about it later, deal?"

Renee, getting the meaning of the look, nodded. "Deal. Anyway, we're hoping it's about restarting the Space Program." She continued.

"A young President, that's what we needed! He still has dreams, too!"

Claire began to laugh then. "Good luck on doing that with Rufus! That man's worse than his father!" Cloud popped his sister in the back of the head and Vincent glanced away, trying to hide his smirk as the twins began to argue.

Since no one else was going to ask, Jeanne sighed - "Can we borrow the 'Tiny Bronco'?"

Cid looked at her like she was a vampire. "You out of your #&$^%* mind! That's my most cherished possession. I can't let you take it!"

"Damn, too bad." Claire said, still holding her head as she turned from her brother. "I was hoping things were going to be easy but nothing ever is, is it?"

"Nothing in this world ever is," Renee shook her head as Cid turned back to what they had been working on. "Go back to Shera; I'm sure she's the one that told you where we are. We'll talk so more later."

Jeanne nodded and left the rocket, the others following.

"I'm hungry," Claire whined as they walked back into the town.

"Well, all the food places here suck so don't even bother!" Claire turned to see Yuffie exiting the Inn in front of them, an annoyed look on her face. "That bad, huh?"

"Oh yeah. That and the fact Zeke and Barret are eating it just makes it worse."

"Well, maybe Shera can give us something," Claire told her friend. "Maybe."

Jeanne shook her head and moved to the house with the airplane, knocking on the door. It opened soon and the five of them walked in.

"So, the Captain said no, did he?" Shera asked as they stood in the room.

"Unfortunately." Claire replied as the door opened again and Cid and Renee walked in.

"^%$# Shera. What are you, blind!" Cid cried. "We got guests! GET SOME TEA! ^%*&#!"

Renee couldn't help but giggle and moved over to the stove to help make the tea as Shera apologized. This was a daily event so the two women were used to it.

"Really, don't mind us." Cloud tried to tell him, but-

"Shut up! Sit your ass down in that chair and drink your goddamn TEA!" Cid shouted.

Claire placed a hand over her mouth and giggled as she turned. Vincent raised an eyebrow at her and Yuffie frowned as Cloud looked surprised and Jeanne just smiled as the man paced around the room.

"Arrghhhh! DAMN, I'm pissed!" the man continued.

"Calm down, Cid," Renee told him. "Or I'll make you." The man stared at her for a second, debating whether or not to say anything before he gave in, turned, and went to go mess with the Tiny Bronco.

"High-five to the chick." Yuffie grinned, but then frowned at she stared after the man. "Jerk." She mumbled.

"Sorry," Claire frowned herself as she turned to Shera.

"It's our fault," Cloud agreed.

"No, no he's always like this." Shera answered them.

"You get used to it after a while." Renee sighed as the teapot began to whistle.

"I think it's a bit too harsh." Jeanne commented.

"No," Shera shook her head. "It's because of my stupid mistake."

"I've told you before it wasn't a mistake," Renee huffed. "You did nothing wrong. You were just making sure everything was safe."

"But…I was the one who destroyed his dream…"

"What happened?" Tifa asked.

Shera sighed and then began to speak as Renee sat on the counter while the tea cooled down.

_**~Are you going to Scarborough Fair? **_

_**Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, **_

_**Remember me to one who lives there, **_

_**She once was a true love of mine.~**_

_**Cid and Shera were down in the engine room.**__ Shera was busy doing final check-ups while Cid watched._

"_Hey! Get your ass in gear! You work like a snail! Even the moon'd get tired of waitin' around for your ass! I'm surprised Renee likes working with you!"_

"_I-I'm sorry." Shera mumbled._

"_Don't take so much time checking that %*# oxygen tank! Shera, bein' carful's good, but it won't do any good, no matter how many times you've checked that oxygen tank. That thing wouldn't break even if hell froze over."_

"_But…"_

"_No buts! You're not stupid so be more efficient!"_

"_I'm sorry."_

**~Tell her to make me a cambric shirt, **

**Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, **

**Without a seam or needle work, **

**Then she'll be a true love of mine.~**

_**Cid walked into the hall and Renee glanced up from her position on the floor.**_

"_Captain!" One of the three men with her said as they all turned. "Our dreams are finally coming true."_

"_We are so proud to be a part of ShinRa No. 26."_

"_Captain, preparations are complete! All that's left is lift off!"_

_Cid grinned happily and gave a laugh. "Yeah! Leave it all to me! I'll be back in a few!"_

_The men all left as Renee replaced the section of the wall she had been working on and brushed the oil off onto her pants as she stood up. "Have fun," She grinned._

_Cid frowned. "Are you sure you don't want to go with me?"_

_Renee's grin grew wider. "Nah, this is your thing." She assured him. "You're dream. But you'd best hurry back because I want you here for when my dream takes place, understand?"_

"_What is your dream? You have told me yet."_

"_And you won't learn it until you come back, got it?"_

"_All right, all right, I got it." _

_She smiled._

_**~Tell her to wash it in yonder dry well**_

_**Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, **_

_**Where water ne'er sprang, nor drop of rain fell**_

_**Then she'll be a true love of mine.~**_

"_**Instrument panel…all clear."**__ Cid was sitting before the control pad, staring up at the sky as the adrenaline pumped through his veins. "ShinRa No. 26 ready for launch."_

"_Engine pressure rising," He heard a man's voice tell him. "ShinRa No. 26…3 minutes to launch. Beginning countdown."_

"…_Finally," Cid sighed, leaning back in his chair and shutting his eyes. It was then that an alarm sounded and a red light began to go off. "What the? What happened?" He demanded, looking around._

"_Cid!" Renee's voice, full of panic, was the one that sounded over the radio this time. "Someone's still in the Engine room! I think it's Shera!"_

"_WHAT!" Cid immediately activated the intercom and began to scream. "Hey goddammit! Who the $%&#'s still in there?"_

"_It's Shera, Captain," The woman's voice replied. "Don't mind me, go ahead with the launch."_

"_Shera! What are you still doing in there!"_

"_I was still concerned. The results of the oxygen tank test weren't satisfactory."_

"_You stupid little ^$#*%! It's gonna get so hot in there that there ain't gonna be SHIT left when we blast off! You're gonna be burnt to a crisp! You're gonna die! You know that, doncha!"_

"_I don't mind," Was Shera's reply. "If I can just fix this, the launch will be a success. I'm almost done."_

_Cid couldn't believe his ears. This woman was crazy! "Almost done! You're gonna die!" He hollered. _

"_Cid," It seemed that the man had retrieved the radio from Renee(though Cid could hear her shouting in the back ground). "We must start the countdown. We won't make it if we don't!"_

_The Engine turned on and Cid found himself at a loss. What was he supposed to do?_

"_Hey, wait a minute! Shera's still in here!" He cried._

"_What are you going to do, Cid? If we cancel now, it'll be another six months until the next launch!" The man told him as Renee's shouts were dragged away from the room. Some one had made her leave._

"_GODDAMMIT, Shera…you wanna make me a murderer?" Cid shouted._

"_Captain!" Shera called to him. "Tank Number 7 check is complete. Once I complete Tank Number 8, its all clear."_

"_Come on, Shera…hurry up…You're gonna die…" Cid moaned, holding his head._

"_30 seconds until ignition. Beginning countdown." The man on the radio told him. "Cid! Forget about her. We won't make it in time!"_

_Cid was appalled. How could he say something like that? Shera had worked with them since the beginning of this project!_

_~What am I supposed to do?~ He asked himself._

"_15 seconds until ignition. Internal temperature rising._

_~Oh man, all my dreams…~_

"_Engine ignite."_

"_SH-IT!"_

_Cid lifted his hand and brought it smashing down onto a button.  
><em>

_**~Tell him her to dry it on yonder grey thorn**_

_**Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, **_

_**Which ne'er bore blossom since Adam was born **_

_**Then she'll be a true love of mine.~**_

"**He pushed the Emergency Engine shutdown switch."** Shera told them. "Aborting the mission to save my life."

"After that," Renee stood up and began to pass the tea. "The Space Program was cutback and the launch was canceled."

"It's my fault his dream was destroyed…" Shera sighed. "That's why…it's all right. I don't care what the Captain says; I'll live my life for him."

~Both of us will,~ Renee mumbled to herself, pausing in front of Yuffie as she held out her cup of tea. She looked familiar too.

Yuffie reached out to take the cup and then froze, eyes wide.

"Auntie Yuie?" Yuffie sounded like a little kid again.

"Damn," Renee shook her head. "How many times am I going to have to hear that name in one day?" she asked.

"Don't you remember me? It's me! Yuffie!" The teen sounded ecstatic as she pointed at herself.

Renee knew who she was, but shook her head. "Nope. Sorry. I'm afraid that I don't have a niece. I'm not from Wutai."

Yuffie pulled a face, thinking for a moment before it dawned on her. "I never said that I was from Wutai!" She claimed and pointed a finger at the redhead in front of her.

Renee had a large smile burst out onto her face. "You caught me." She took another look at the young woman. "You've grown so much, Yuffie. You're not a little girl anymore!"

"And look at you! Dad and I have been so worried! Why did you leave? Dad's been searching for you everywhere!"

Renee gave a shrug. "I can't explain. I just wanted to leave," She scratched the back of her head. "I'm glad to learn that the two of you are still safe, though."

Yuffie opened her mouth to say something, but then jumped on her aunt, pulling her into a death grip.

The back door opened and shut and Cid walked in. He took one look at Renee and Yuffie hugging and raised his eyebrows. "What the hell's going on here?"

Renee pulled back with that smile still on her face. "I've told you about my niece before, Cid. Guess who."

Cid took a look at the ninja for a moment before smirking. "So, you're the little brat that would always lead her into trouble, huh?"

"What did you say?" Yuffie growled.

Jeanne and the twins shared a look. This guy didn't watch what he said too much, did he?

Cid, ignoring the now angry Yuffie, walked over to the newly-emptied table and sat down himself, propping one foot up on it.

"Hurry up and sit down! Or ain't my hospitality good enough for you?" He commented to the others.

Renee moved in time to slap a hand over her niece's mouth before she exploded and Jeanne moved to the table and sat down. Cloud and Claire followed her and Vincent just leaned against the wall, his arms crossed. "They're late," Cid said as the silence rang through the house. "Where is Rufus?"

At that moment, guess who decided to just walk in? That fat bloat, Palmer. And he seemed to completely ignore everyone but Cid.

"Hey-HEY! Long time no see! So Cid, how ya been?"

Cid stood up with a small smirk. "Well, if it ain't fat man, Palmer. How long were you figurin' on keepin' me waiting!" He seemed to ignore that and moved closer to Palmer in excitement. "So? When's the Space Program gonna start up again?"

The man shook his head. "Hey, hey, I don't know. The President's outside, so why don't you ask him?"

Cid looked pissed. "^$#&! Good for nothin' fat &$#^*!" Cid took off after him, screaming something about not saying fat. Jeanne frowned. "Something doesn't feel right." She turned to Yuffie. "Go get the others and tell them to that there's been a change of plans."

"What do you want us to do?" Yuffie asked.

"Go ahead and tell them to get out of town. I'll call and tell you where to meet us."

Yuffie nodded and out the backdoor she went. Heading towards the door, Vincent beat her to it. He seemed to already know what she was planning on doing and pushed the door open, standing in the doorway as Jeanne listened from the side, careful not to be seen.

"What the-! You got me all excited for nothing!" Cid was growling. "Then what did you came here for?"

"I want to borrow the Tiny Bronco." Rufus' voice hit them. "We're going after Sephiroth and Sienna. But it seems like we've been going in the wrong direction. But now, we think we know where' they're headed. But, we have to cross the ocean. That's why we want the plane."

Cid let out his wonderful slew of curses. "First the Airship, then the rocket, and now the Tiny Bronco? ShinRa took outer space away from me and now you want to take the sky away from me too!"

"Oh my…" Rufus let out a small chuckle. "You seem to forget that it was ShinRa Inc. that you were able to fly in the first place."

"What!" Cid was enraged now.

"Rufus, wait a second," Jena's voice made Jeanne's face twitch. "You can ask him nicely. Maybe starting up the Space Program again won't be so bad."

"Shera," Renee reached past Vincent and closed the door. "Are you going to be all right by yourself?" She asked.

The woman with glasses nodded. "I'll be fine. Just do what you have to do and be safe."

"What are you talking about?" Claire asked.

"You wanted to use the Tiny Bronco, right?" Renee turned to the back door.

"Yes, but-"

"Then follow me."

Jeanne gave another glance at the door before following the other woman with the others. Outside, Palmer was climbing up the Tiny Bronco, reaching for the controls.

"Why do I have to do this?" Palmer whined. "I'm the head of the Space Program..."

"Hey!" Renee growled. "Get off of that!" Palmer jumped and fell off the plane, landing at the redhead's feet.

"We'll be taking the Tiny bronco!" Cloud tried to sound cool.

"I've seen you somewhere before…" Palmer looked at the two blondes.

"Am I that easily forgotten?" Jeanne asked, glaring icily at the man as his gaze turned to her.

His face turned pale. "J-Jeanne! And you two! You were with her at the ShinRa Building when the President was killed! Ulp!" He then turned and began to shout for security.

"Shut up." Renee growled, kicking the man in the back of the head. He fell over, out cold.

"Nice shot." Claire laughed.

Renee smirked. "Well, when you live with Cid you have to give the right hits to knock a man out. Cid'll get off his rocker just a bit too much sometimes." She climbed into the plane and sat down. Pulling out her keys and shoving it into the machine, she glanced over her shoulder in time to see a truck with the ShinRa logo on it. She frowned. It seemed that ShinRa planned on taking the plane anyway. "Jump on!" She called to the others.

Cloud took the seat behind Renee as Jeanne took the left wing and Vincent jumped onto the right. The man in red turned and grabbed Claire's hand to help her take a spot next to him. As they took off, Claire couldn't help but give off a laugh as she held onto the wing for dear life. Flying was…there was no words to describe the feeling that she received at the wind blew through her hair and the ground zipped past underneath them. It was just so amazing.

Flying around the Rocket, Renee returned to the house just in time for Cid to start running as an Infantryman began to shoot at them. Cid caught Jeanne's hand and she helped pull him up beside her. They went to fly high again, but the tail of the craft got hit.

"Shit! The tail's been hit!" Cid cried.

"Emergency landing," Cloud groaned.

"This's gonna be a big splash. Hold onto your drawers and don't piss in 'em." Cid told them.

The splash wasn't as big as Cid had been worrying. They were all a little wet, yeah, but that was all that was wrong. Besides, after being asleep for 30 years, Claire was sure that Vincent need a bath.

(XXDD Sorry, I just couldn't help that one, lol!)

"She's not going to be able to fly anymore," Renee groaned as she looked up at them all.

"Can't we use it as a boat?" Cloud asked.

"$#&%! Do want ever you want!" Cid snarled.

"Well," Claire leaned forward past Vincent to look at Cid. "What are the two of you going to do now?"

"Dunno. I'm history with the ShinRa and I've given up on the town."

"What about your wife?" Cloud asked. "Shera?"

Renee began to laugh as Cid pulled a face.

"Wife? Just thinkin' 'bout marrin' her gives me the chills."

"So, what are you guys going to do?" Renee asked, deciding to change the subject.

"We're going after a man and woman named Sephiroth and Sienna," Renee's eyebrows rose. "We'll have to get Rufus of the ShinRa someday too." Cloud answered.

"Why don't we go with them, Cid?" Renee asked. "Shera will be fine by herself, anyway and there's nothing to really do there anymore."

Cid thought for a moment. "I don't know about any of that, but…what the hell! Sign us up!" He told Jeanne.

"I don't mind," Claire grinned.

"I don't really care," Cloud sighed.

Vincent didn't say anything as he gazed out over the water and Jeanne gave a nod with a grin..

"Glad to be aboard, Numbskulls!" Cid grinned.

"Numbskulls…?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah. Anyone stupid enough to go up against ShinRa nowadays, has GOTTA be a numbskull! I like it! So, where we headed? Rufus said something about goin' after Sephiroth and Sienna Sienna towards The Temple of the Ancients."

"Really!" cloud and Claire both asked. "Where is it? The Temple of the Ancients?"

"Dunno. That numbskull kid was tellin' me he was heading 'the wrong direction' so maybe it's off this way?" Cid replied.

"Let's just head for land and get some information. Temple of the Ancients," Cloud repeated. "That name bothers me."

"All right," Claire smiled. "Let's go!"

"What about the others?" Vincent finally decided to speak.

It took a moment before Claire sat back down beside him, red in the face. "Yeah…let's go get the others first."

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	25. Chapter 24

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Jena is still stuck between Rufus and Reno, but I promise that before the end of Dirge of Cerberus, she will choose. Maybe one, maybe both(wouldn't that be great? Just think of all the things you could do there, XXDD Well, as long as it wasn't at the same time LMFAO)**

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

**Entertainment & Apologies**

**After tying a boat to the back of the Tiny Bronco to carry everyone, they had come across a small house on the edge of the Continent that once held the Keystone they needed to enter the Temple of the Ancients, but it was already sold. **Believe it or not, it was at the Gold Saucer and so, they found themselves at the Party Place once again and inside the battle arena. Dio had the Keystone and he agreed to let them have it if someone could win the battle arena.

Cloud wanted to do it but in the end Zeke, drunk or not, was chosen and thrown into the Battle Arena with a bunch of robots and fighting machines. Believe it or not, Zeke won and now he and Tifa were…most likely at a bar again. In fact, they had all split up after the received the Keystone.

Zeke and Tifa were at the bar.

Barret, Red Xlll and Aerith were most likely getting something to eat and then going to go see a movie or something like that.

Cait Sith said that he was going off to see some old friends of his.

Yuffie had decided to catch up with her Aunt so she was with Renee and Cid as they went to the Chocobo Races to cast Bets.

And Vincent…well, Mr. Emo had decided to disappear so Claire had decided to try and find him.

Cloud seemed to have disappeared after they decided to stay the night at the Haunted Hotel so Jeanne was the only one left in the Hotel Room that she, Tifa, and Claire would be sharing.

The Keystone was sitting in the desk drawer beside Jeanne's bed and she was getting ready for a nice sleep when there was a knock on her door.

"You can come in." She called.

Her eyes didn't move from the book until she heard the voice. "Jeanne?" She sat up and looked at the blond man at the foot of her bed.

"What do you want?" She asked him.

"I, uh, I came to apologize for what I said before. At the Reactor. I thought about what you said and, you're right. I've known you for years so there's no reason I shouldn't trust you. I just…I'm sorry."

Jeanne sighed. "You shouldn't be." She whispered.

"Huh." He looked confused.

"It's all right, Cloud." She told him. "It's not your fault." She didn't really know what else to say and so she fell silent. It seemed that Cloud had an idea though.

"Come on," Cloud grabbed her hand and pulled her off the bed. "Let me take you to the Play tonight as a real apology."

"The Play?" Jeanne asked.

"Yes; everything's apparently free tonight(only God knows why) so let's get to the really expensive stuff out of the way!"

Jeanne couldn't help but smile and took the jacket he was handing to her. He sounded so excited; almost like he used to those seven, nearly eight, years ago. "All right, fine. I'll go check it out. What's the play about?"

Cloud grinned as they walked down the stairs. "I have no idea."

Jeanne was glad that he wasn't mad at her anymore, but she knew that he would be when she told him the truth. Perhaps she should stop trying to push it off. Perhaps she should just go ahead and tell him. Now. Yeah. Tonight. Tonight, she would tell him about everything.

"Congratulations!" The man by the door to the Theatre shouted the moment Jeanne and Cloud walked in. "You are our 100th couple today! You two will be the leads in tonight's show!"

"What?" Both of them asked; Jeanne sounded horrified.

"Oh, now, it's not hard. Just play it however you want and the rest of the cast will cover up for you." The man began to walk off. "Come this way."

"I am not twirling across the stage like son ballerina." Jeanne told the man.

"Oh, it sounds like fun," Cloud told her. "Just once. It can't be that bad."

She flushed. He sounded so different than he normally did while they were journeying. Again, almost like a little kid. She didn't have the strength to argue with him with that grin on his face. "Fine. But if you ever tell anyone about this, I will make you dress up as a girl again and send pictures out across the world. Zeke would just love that." She caught her tongue. She had almost said Zack.

Cloud pulled a horrified look as they followed the man. "What! How did you-Claire!" He cursed his sister as Jeanne giggled.

"**Long, long ago…"** The Narrator began. "An evil shadow appeared over the peaceful Kingdom of Galdia…Princess Rosa was just kidnapped by the Evil Dragon King, Valvados. What will become of her?" Jeanne pinched the ridge of her nose as she stood to the side of the stage with the man dressed in the Dragon Suit. "Just then, the legendary hero, Alfred, appears!"

Cloud, from the other side of the stage, came running out to the center. A Knight then twirled out next to him.

"Oh…You must be the legendary Hero…Alfred!" The Knight exclaimed. Jeanne almost burst out laughing when Cloud looked at him like he was an idiot. The knight then whispered that it was his line and Cloud pointed at himself. "Yeah, you." The Knight cleared his throat. "Oh…you must be the legendary hero…Alfred! I know in my soul. Please…please save Princess Rosa!"

~Now,~ Jeanne thought to herself. ~Why does the name Rosa make me think of Richard Faulengaurd?~

(Now, I know that you guys have no idea who Richard Faulengaurd is. He's a character that I made that gets Rosa in Final Fantasy 4. I know that I haven't written that game yet, but its right around the corner. I couldn't help it. I saw the name and I instantly thought of FF4 XD. He'll be here soon though so don't worry.)

"Now," The Knight was saying. "Please talk…to the King!"

Another man in a blue robe came twirling out as well and Cloud walked over to him. "Oh…legendary hero, Alfred. You have come to save my beloved Rosa…On the peak of a dangerous mountain…dwells the Evil Dragon King, Valvados, who has kidnapped Princess Rosa. But…you can't beat the Evil Dragon King now! Talk to the one who can help you…"

A man dressed up as a wizard also twirled out onto the stage and Cloud walked over to him this time. "I am the great wizard, Vorman. What do you wish to know?"

Cloud gave Jeanne a look and had half a mind to ask about the 'Princess'' measurements but he knew that Jeanne would kill him so instead, he just stuck to the story. "The Evil Dragon King's weakness."

"Ahh, the weakness of the Evil Dragon King. It must be, it must be…" Jeanne raised an eyebrow as the music suddenly stopped.

(And a man in a black cape and a white mask jumped down, demanding to know why box five was not empty)

(XD I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself. Can anyone name where that was from?)

"Yes, it must be…True love!" The Wizard shouted out. Jeanne's mouth dropped open as the music began to play again. "The power of love…Is the only weapon that can withstand the fangs of the Evil Dragon King…!"

"Oh, what is going to happen next?" The Narrator asked. "Oh, Legendary hero…look!"

"I knew that this was a bad idea," Jeanne mumbled to herself as the 'Dragon' picked her up and carried her out onto the stage.

"Gaaaaaaaah!" The 'Dragon' roared, dropping the woman to her feet. "I am the Evil Dragon King…Valvados! I have not harmed the Princess…I have been expecting…you!"

Jeanne didn't say anything at first but then the Dragon kicked her in the leg and so, in a very fake voice - "Please help me, Legendary Hero!"

Pleased, the 'Dragon' gave another roar. "Here I come, Legendary hero…Alfred!"

Jeanne could have sworn that the Batman theme song started playing as the 'Dragon' ran at Cloud. Cloud just side-stepped the man and moved to Jeanne as the wizard shouted 'True Love' again. Jeanne found herself lost in Cloud's eyes as he leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek.

"Cloud…" She whispered as the 'Dragon' began to moan.

"Curses….the power of…love!" He was then yanked off the stage.

"Oh…look! Love has…triumphed!" The King cried happily. "Now let's all return…And celebrate."

The Wizard and Knight agreed and the three of them twirled off the stage again as Cloud and Jeanne just walked off after them as the Narrator finished the story.

"Oh, how profound the power of love…And so the legendary hero Alfred and our Princess live on happily ever after."

"All right," Jeanne sighed as they left the Event Square. "That was entertaining. Embarrassing, but entertaining." She smiled, glancing around. "You want to go ride the Gondola next?"

Cloud's face seemed to be drawn with a smile that night. "Sure."

_**~Out on the streets, that's where we'll meet**_

_**You make the night, I always cross the line**_

_**Tightened our belts, abuse ourselves**_

_**Get in our way, we'll put you on your shelf**_

_**Another day, some other way**_

_**We're gonna go, but then we'll see you again**_

_**I've had enough, we've had enough**_

_**Cold in vain, she said~**_

**Zeke leaned back in his chair, peace rolling through him as Tifa giggled from across the table. **

"What are you over there giggling at?" Zeke asked her.

"You." She answered truthfully.

"Me? Why me?"

"You are the only man I know that eats like a rabid animal and attacks people when they come near it."

"I don't attack them because they come near my food!" Zeke told her, reaching for his mug.

"Oh? Then why do you attack them?"

"When they come near my beer."

Tifa shook her head in disbelief with another laugh as the two of them continued to ignore the loud rumble behind them. "You are something else, Zeke. I'm surprised that you and Zack are related." At the name, Zeke set his mug down and leaned forward, starring down at the table. Tifa pulled a face. She forgot that Zeke always got moody when his cousin was brought up; but then again, who wouldn't be? "Zeke, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"It's all right," He told her, spinning his fork around on the table. "I just have to get used to the fact that he's gone. I can't let this haunt me forever."

"But still, I-" Tifa was cut off when a man was thrown into the back of Zeke's chair, sending the man forward into the table. The table was screwed to the floor so Zeke didn't knock it over, but something else was knocked over instead.

His mug of beer.

With a fierce look, the man shoved himself to his feet and turned to the man that had bumped into him at his feet. Tifa watched then as Zeke began to beat the hell out of the man and the men that he had been fighting with before. Tifa just watched until Zeke was grabbed by the owner and thrown out. She had half a mind to just laugh at him and stay inside but she found herself loving being around the young man. He could turn all these bad times into something enjoyable for her, sort of like Cloud could do when they were younger before all of this happened.

So liked being around him, so out of the bar she went, carrying the bags that Zeke had been carrying for her from the shops. So, they just walked around the place, laughing and talking. It seemed that no matter how much Zeke drank, he never got drunk. He was all happy and laugh-y, but not drunk. She prayed that after all of this was over, and everything was back to normal, Zeke would stay with her. Or maybe, she'd go with him. Just as long as they could stay together.

_**~I knew right from the beginning**_

_**That you would end up winnin'**_

_**I knew right from the start**_

_**You'd put an arrow through my heart**_

_**Round and round**_

_**With love we'll find a way just give it time**_

_**Round and round**_

_**What comes around goes around**_

_**I'll tell you why~**_

"**YEAH! RUN FREEBIRD! RUN! WIN ME THAT %*&# MONEY!"**

"How in the world can you put up with this old geezer?" Yuffie asked her Aunt, slapping her hands over her ears as Cid continued to yell at the race.

Renee giggled as Cid continued to shout at the race. "He sort of grows on you after a little while, Yuffie. You have to get used to him, though this wasn't exactly how he was when we first met. He got worse with time."

"Speaking of which," Her niece gave her a look. "Tell me everything that happened after you left us."

Renee ate another nacho and took a drink before answering the question. "I met Cid almost a month after I left Wutai at a City called Costa Del Sol. He was having some problems with a group called AVALANCHE because he was building that rocket you saw for ShinRa. And, well, with me being me, I watched as Cid beat the hell out of them…until more and more kept coming. Leviathan didn't like that too much either so we stepped in." She was referring to her summon. "He thanked me and that's when I saw the Tiny Bronco outside. I was instantly hitched and we started talking. He invited me to see the Rocket and I just…never left."

Yuffie let out a wince as Cid let out a slew of enraged curses and stomped a foot. "I still don't see how you put up with him."

"Well then keep your nose out of it!" Cid growled into his seat. "And shut up."

"I don't have to listen to you!" The teen replied, her anger flaring.

"The hell you don't, you little brat!"

And so, Cid and Yuffie got into a pissing-match which turned out to be more entertaining than the races as everyone around them turned to listen to the two of them. Renee just sat back and watched laughing to herself.

For the last eight years she and Cid had been together, working on the Rocket and other things. At first they were just friends, but as the time progressed it was a little something more. At least that's what Renee hoped. She had been in love with Cid for years now. The day Cid was supposed to launch into Space was the day that Renee was going to tell him when he returned that she loved him but then the launch failed because of Shera. Cid was so distressed and annoyed that Renee couldn't let her feelings for the man be revealed until she was able to get to him up into space. She swore that she would get him up there, so letters were sent and everything that she could do was done. When she heard that Rufus was coming, she thought she had succeeded. Learning the truth just annoyed her.

Renee had thought about going ahead and just telling Cid her feelings, but she had always planned on it being special and that moment would be after his journey into space, even if it took till the end of time.

_**~Lookin' at you, lookin' at me**_

_**The way you move, you know it's easy to see**_

_**The neon light's on me tonight**_

_**I've got a way, we're gonna prove it tonight**_

_**Like Romeo to Juliet**_

_**Time and time, I'm gonna make you mine**_

_**I've had enough, we've had enough**_

_**It's all the same, she said~**_

"**Why are you looking for me?"**

The voice made Claire squeal as she jumped. Whirling around, she punched the man behind her just to hit something hard, making her hand ache.

~Damn Vincent and his Death Claw.~ "Don't sneak up on me like that!" Claire hissed through clenched teeth as she rubber her hand. "Jerk." Any other man would have smiled at her; Vincent just stared in silence. She frowned. "You don't smile much, do you?"

"Should I?"

She looked at him like he was stupid. "Well, yeah. You're not in that little box of yours anymore, are you? Be glad! You're free." When he didn't say anything and his face didn't change, she pulled an annoyed face and poked him in the chest. "All right, look here you Emo-Vampire-Wannabe. I fought for almost 15 years to open that damn door and get you out of there so at least be thankful. Instead of being all mopey about it you could try and act happy." She crossed her arms and turned. "So just come on. Let's go get something to eat or rides some rides or something."

As she walked, Claire was very happy that Vincent had decided to follow her, even if it was in silence. She grinned and began to pound him with questions of being a Turk and other things like that. It took the man a few silent moments, but she received answers for every one of them. She didn't like the thought of Lucrecia. It seemed that the woman had fallen in love with Hojo and agreed to follow through with the experiment of Sephiroth just because of that. And no one apparently knew what happened to her afterwards. Vincent had already been put through the tests Hojo had for him and put to sleep in the coffin. Vincent seemed to lighten up a bit as Claire led his around the place. He even ate a little, though not enough to settle her worries, but she held herself. She had to give him more time to get used to being outside again, so it just might take a little while, but she'd be there if he needed anything. After all, like she said, after trying to find someone for 15 years, you just don't see yourself leaving them after doing so any time soon.

_**~I knew right from the beginning**_

_**That you would end up winnin'**_

_**I knew right from the start**_

_**You'd put an arrow through my heart**_

_**Round and round**_

_**With love we'll find a way just give it time**_

_**Round and round**_

_**What comes around goes around**_

_**I'll tell you why~**_

"**Two, please."** Jeanne smiled at the woman behind the ticket booth.

"Here you are, two tickets." She smiled as they boarded the Gondola. "Enjoy the sights of Gold Saucer."

There was a sweet little tune playing in the ride as the two of them stared out the window in silence. The lights of Gold Saucer lit up the sky beautifully. Jeanne had a sudden urge to ride the Rollercoaster next.

(Rollercoasters are really fun! I love the adrenaline! lol)

They were taken by the Chocobo races and Cloud reached his hand out, reaching to touch one of the birds but they were too fast on the lit-up track as whistles sounded from the stands.

"Oh wow," Jeanne smiled as fireworks were shot off around the Gondola. "It's so beautiful," She looked at Cloud. "Don't you think?"

"It's very nice," Cloud agreed, watching with her. As they settled back into their seats, he sighed. "Again, I just want to say that I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing, Cloud." Jeanne told him. "You did nothing wrong. I just wish that Aerith would state her problems to my face instead of trying to turn you all against me."

"But why is she doing that? What happened when you met before?" Cloud asked.

Jeanne gave a sigh as they got off the Gondola, raking her brains on how to answer that question. "Here, let's grab something to eat and I'll answer everything." The time was now or never. While they were eating she would tell him everything. "Is that all right?"

"Yeah, I think I'd like that."

They hurried back to the circle to head for the restaurants when they found Cait Sith standing there. Jeanne figured that he was going back to the Inn when he pulled out the Keystone! Cloud seemed to recognize it to.

"Hey! Cait Sith!" The blond growled.

The Robot didn't even turn and ran for the Battle Arena. ~Oh God,~ Jeanne felt extremely pissed off now. She had trust Reeve. She let his stay with them, thinking that he wasn't working for ShinRa. She should have known! ~This is my fault!~

The two of them chased the Robot all through the Battle Arena, The Speed Way, through the Wonder room, and the Chocobo races. It was there on the stairs that the helicopter appeared. Tseng was there, waiting and caught the Keystone when Cait Sith tossed it.

"Well done." Tseng called down before the helicopter flew off. Jeanne stared after it before she grabbed the robotic cat by the neck and held it in the air.

"What the hell, Reeve!" She demanded.

"You were a spy?" Cloud asked.

"Yes, I was a spy." The Cat answered.

"I can't believe that I trusted you!" Jeanne growled, her grip growing stronger. "The moment Liana told me I should have taken care of you."

"You knew?" Cloud asked her, shocked.

Jeanne nodded. "His real name is Reeve Tuesti. Jena sent Liana just outside of Gongaga to warn me about him. I thought I could trust him, but it appears that I was wrong."

"I couldn't help it." Cait Sith tried to tell her. "How 'bout if we continue like nothing ever happened?"

"No way, cat!" Cloud growled. "You gotta lot of guts acting like a friend but being a spy!"

"Then what are you going to do? Kill me? The cat is robotic. You'd be wasting your time." Cloud sighed, though anger was still radiating off of him. "Talking won't do any good, so can't we just continue our journey?"

"You think I'm jokin'!" The man was really pissed now.

"Yes, I am a ShinRa Employee." Cait Sith told him. "But we're not entirely enemies. Something bothers me. I think it's your way of life. You don't get paid. You don't get praised. Yet, you still risk your lives and continue on your journey. Seeing that makes me…It just makes me think about my life. I don't think I'd feel too good if things ended the way they are now."

Jeanne's grip softened and she placed the Cat back on the white doll he rode on. "Why did you take the Keystone?" She didn't know what it was but something told her that Cait Sith wasn't telling them the whole truth. Something else was going on here.

"He'll never tell the truth. Once a spy, always a spy." Cloud told her. "We can't go on with someone like that. C'mon! Get real!"

Cait Sith shook his head. "Just as I though. Talking won't make a bit of difference. But I prepared something in case this happened." He pulled out a phone and dialed a number. "Why don't you listen to this?"

It took a few moments, but then they could hear a little voice, begging for Barret, Tifa, and Jeanne.

It was Marlene!

The Cat closed the phone. "So, you have to do as I say."

"You're the lowest…" Cloud growled.

"I didn't want to do this…using dirty tricks and taking hostages…but this is how it is…no compromises. So why don't we continue on as we did?" He moved past them, heading for the Inn before he turned around to face them again. "Tomorrow is the Temple of the Ancients, right? I know where it is so I'll tell you later. Of course we'll get there after ShinRa, but you'll have to deal with that."

Cloud glared at him as he disappeared. "Well, we're stuck…We'll have to do as he says."

"Dammit!" Jeanne slapped her hand to her forehead.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Cloud asked her.

Jeanne felt Déjà vu running through her as she began to make her way up the stairs after the robot.

"I just keep making the bad decisions, don't I?"

Cloud watched her leave before kicking at the ground. He shouldn't get mad at her. Apparently, Reeve had been a friend years ago so of course she would trust him. Him taking his anger out on her wasn't something that he should be doing. ~Great~ He shook his head as he hurried after her. ~I gotta apologize again!~

**Everything is one step closer to being revealed. I can't wait! :)**

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	26. Chapter 25

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

**Temple of the Ancients Part 1**

**Aerith was excited about going to the Temple of the Ancients. In fact, as they stood before it, she couldn't keep her mouth shut. **The Temple was surrounded by trees with a rope bridge hanging and leading the way to the entrance of the large object.

Aerith ran forward and fell to her knees, placing her ear to the bridge. "This is…the Temple of the Ancients…I…I know…I feel it…the knowledge of the Ancients…floating. You could become one with the planet, but you're stopping it with the strength of will. For the future? For us?"

"What are you saying?" Claire asked her. "Do you understand?"

Aerith took off towards the opening. "You're uneasy…but happy?" She paused. "Because I'm here? I'm sorry…I don't understand." She turned to face them. "I want to go inside."

"No one's stopping you." Cid told her, a cigarette in his mouth. "Go on without us. We'll catch up."

"Cid," Renee chuckled at the man beside her. "Let's just go. I wanna know what Sephiroth and Sienna wanna do here."

The older man grumbled under his breath as Jeanne shook her head and led the way inside.

"Stay back!"

Jeanne froze as the sight just inside the Temple. Blood and Ice was all over the walls and pillars as well as the three Turks that were lying on the ground. Tseng, Liana, and Jena. Tseng and Liana both seemed to be passed out as Jena sat beside them, Tseng's gun in her hand as she pointed it at her sister, her hand shaking. Her hand lowered at the sight of her sister.

"Jena!" Jeanne slid to her knees beside the bleeding woman and immediately whipped out her healing Materia.

"What happened?" Claire demanded as Renee and Tifa moved to check on the other two.

"We…ShinRa was wrong…we were all wrong," Jena struggled to say. "It's not the Promised Land that Sephiroth and Sienna are searching for…"

"They're inside!" Cloud demanded.

She nodded before dropping her head. "Damn," she glared at the woman in pink. "Letting you go was the start of it all." She sighed. "The President was wrong."

"You're wrong!" Aerith argued. "The Promised Land isn't like what you imagined. And, I'm not going to help." She turned away, crossing her arms. "Either way, there was no way ShinRa could have won."

"I didn't ask for your help." Jena continued to scowl.

"Stop being a bitch, Pinky." Zeke moved forward to kneel next to Tifa and Tseng." They got their asses beat just like we're going o, I'm sure."

"Here," Jena pulled something out of her pocket and held it out to her sister. It was the Keystone! "Place it…on…the altar."

Jeanne gave Barret a nod and he moved forward as she continued to heal her sister. Sienna's ice was in there pretty deeply, but she seemed to be the least hurt and Jeanne's healing quickly pulled her out of harm's way.

"We need to go." Aerith told Cloud and the man looked at Jeanne.

"I'm not leaving the three of them here like this," She told them plainly.

"You don't have to," Jena pushed herself up to her feet, healed from her sister's Materia. "I'm going deep into the temple."

"What?" Claire demanded.

"Reno and Rude have been called. They're on their way with the helicopter now for Tseng and Liana, but I'm not going with them." She looked at her sister. "You and I began with Sienna. You and I should be the ones to take care of her."

Jeanne searched her sister's eyes for a moment. "All right."

"But Jeanne," Cloud took a step forward. "This is just like before," He shot Cait Sith a look. "Whether or not she's your sister, she's still a ShinRa!"

"I know," She looked at the blond. "That's why you're coming with us." She looked at the others. "Only a few should go inside, in case something does happen. The rest should stay out here to continue on, just to be safe."

They all thought for a moment. "I don't like it," Barret said, "But I agree. Six will go in and the others will stay here with the Turks until they're rescued."

"Well if Cloud's going, so am I." Claire announced.

"Me too!" Aerith instantly said. "I am the Ancient after all."

"I'll stay here with Tifa and Renee and the Turks," Zeke told them as Cid turned his back to Jeanne, smoking.

"I'll stay with my Aunt." Yuffie told them.

"I don't really want to go inside." Red Xlll turned is head.

And so that just left…

"Vincent?" Claire asked with a smile.

He sighed. "If no one else will."

Jeanne gave Jena a nod before leaning forward as the five of them gathered around her and touched the stone.

"Be careful," Tifa called to them. "And don't worry. We'll make sure that they stay alive until help comes."

Jena gave a nod to her. "Thank you."

The six of them were sucked into the ground and dropped down onto a platform that was a puzzle of staircases somewhere inside the Temple and yet, Claire got the feeling that they were outside somewhere.

"Words…feelings…" Aerith mumbled. "So many of them here."

"No exits," Vincent commented. "We can't turn back."

"Who said anything about turning back?" Claire grinned as she began to walk down the first set of stairs. Everyone followed her but Jeanne turned to her sister first.

"Are you sure you'll be able to do this?" She asked.

"Of course." Jena nodded, dropping her jacket on the ground as they walked on. "I'll be fine. Just think about it," She gave a small smile. "Just like last time in Modeoheim, is it not?"

Jeanne gave a small smile. "All most."

(If you don't know what happened in Modeoheim, read Crisis Core :))

"Jeanne! Look!" The woman turned to see what Claire was pointing at and saw a man in purple and yellow walk into a doorway. "Should we follow it?"

Jeanne looked at Cloud. He shrugged. "We've got nothing better to do."

They were all silent until they reached the door that they were following the purple figure into. It was a single lane with rolling rocks that were set to knock them off and roll over them when they lost footing…well, need I say more?

Jeanne watched as the large boulders rolled past them, thinking. "This is going to be a little difficult."

Claire watched the little holes in parts of the objects and turned to Cloud. "You go first."

Cloud gave his sister a look. "You go first."

As the twins began to argue Jena shoved her way through the group and headed on by herself, Vincent following her. Claire ran after the man in red almost immediately and then the others followed.

In the middle of the lane there was another platform off to the side. Jeanne was going to go look at it but it would be better to go and see if they could stop the stone from rolling at them and she was right. Jena stomped on a switch, halting the rolling rocks.

"Phew…we did it!" Aerith grinned.

"Everyone all right?" Cloud asked.

"That was hard!" Claire giggled, looking at Vincent. He looked like he normally did. Bored as hell.

Now that the rocks had stopped rolling, Jeanne moved back to look at the platform. The others followed her, Aerith wearing a strange look on her face. There was a pool of purple liquid in the middle of the platform, an Aura encircling it as the six of them stared at it.

"It's full of the knowledge of the Ancients." Aerith was staring at it in awe and sadness. "No…not knowledge…consciousness…a living soul…" She then gasped. "It's trying to say something." She knelt down to get closer. "I'm sorry. I don't understand." She was practically laying on the platform. "What? What is it?" Aerith then stood up. "…Danger? An evil…consciousness? Show? You're going to show me?"

A bright light burned their eyes to where they had to close them and when they opened them, they found themselves somewhere in the Temple, Tseng, Liana, and Jena staring at the pictures on the walls.

"What's going on?"

"This was what happened to the three of us," Jena told them, running the actions through her head.

Jeanne nodded. "It's like a movie, I guess."

"_**Tseng,"**__ Liana's voice rang through the room. "What is this? Can we find the Promised Land with this?"_

_Tseng shrugged as Jena continued to gaze at the wall. "I wonder. Anyway, we have to report to the President."_

"_I got it," Liana pulled her phone out before looking at Jena. "I'm going to have to go outside to get a signal."_

"_Then go," The woman didn't even glance from the wall._

"_Are you crazy? I'm not going all the way back to the entrance by myself!" Liana replied. "Not with those creepy, voiceless weirdos out there following me with those glares of theirs! Oh no, If I go, the two of you come with me!" _

_Jena turned with a sigh as Tseng gave a small smile. Jeanne remembered working with him all those years ago. Some of the best moments of her life._

"_Fine," Jena told her. "Just wait a little longer. "Tseng," The man turned to see Jena pointing out something on the wall. "Is this the Promised Land?"_

_Tseng walked over to her and looked before taking a step back. "No, it can't be…"_

"_What?" Liana moved over herself. "What is it?"_

_At that moment, two forms silently appeared out of nowhere behind the three Turks that were gazing at the wall. Sephiroth and Sienna. They both turned with a smirk on their faces. Jeanne froze, clutching at the Medallion hanging on her neck. It was as if the two of them knew that they were there, watching. But how could they know that?_

_Sienna cleared her throat and the three Turks jumped and whipped around._

"_Sienna…" Jena whispered._

"_Sephiroth!" Tseng growled._

"_So this is the two 1__st__ Class SOLDIER's I've heard so much about, hmm?" Liana titled her head to the side, staring at them._

"_So you opened the door." Sephiroth commented. "Well done."_

"_This place…" Tseng decided to ask. "What is it?"_

"_A lost Treasure house of knowledge," Sienna replied, turning her back to the Turks and placing a hand on Masamune, Sephiroth's sword._

(Get your head out of the gutter, perverts! She already did that in Crisis Core, XXDD)

"_The Wisdom of the Ancients." The Silver-haired man told them as he watched the woman in front of him._

Jena felt her fists clench. She didn't know what the two of them had been doing before, but now that she did she wanted to attack, but she couldn't due to the fact that this was just a retelling of what happened.

"_We are becoming one with the Planet," Sephiroth announced, spreading his arms out as he stared at the ceiling._

"_One with the Planet?" Liana asked._

_Sephiroth lowered his arms, shaking his head. "You stupid fools. You have never even thought about it. All the energy of this Planet. All its wisdom…knowledge…We will meld with it all. We will become one with it…it will become one with us."_

"_You can do that?" Tseng was confused._

"_The way," Sienna turned to look at the walls herself. "lies here. But don't worry," She smiled at Jena. "Death awaits you all so you won't have to fear anything."_

_With that, Sephiroth slashed out with his sword. The Ice that Sienna had coated around his sword stuck into the wounds that the sword made in the three Turks as the Silver-Haired man zoomed around the room multiple times in the blink of an eye._

"_For it is through death," Sephiroth finally stopped inches away from Sienna, staring down into her eyes. "That a new spirit energy is born. Soon, you will live again as a part of us."_

"**Did you see it?" **Aerith asked.

"An illusion that the Ancients showed…" Vincent

Cloud turned to Jena. "Where's the room with the pictures on the walls?"

Jena turned. "We're not too far away. I can lead you back to it."

"Sephiroth and Sienna are still here, right?" Claire asked.

Cloud gave a nod. "No matter what they think, it's going to end here. We're taking them out!"

As the others walked off, Jeanne and Vincent turned to watch as the images of Sephiroth and Sienna took off into the air before the pool stopped glowing.

"They've both gone crazy," Jeanne whispered. "But they still love one another. They felt like everyone else turned on them and hung onto each other, promising to get revenge. It's sweet but at the same time awful for what they're doing." She turned to the man beside her. "This Lucrecia, after she agreed to give her child to tests…do you still love her?"

Vincent stared at her for a moment before turning around and walking away, his cloak flapping behind him.

Jeanne smirked and gave the pool a final look before taking off after the others.

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	27. Chapter 26

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Aww, thanks Loveless. That's sweet. You must be telling the truth since you're reading all my stories, XXDD**

**And to answer your question, no I have not forgotten about Sesshomaru. Believe me, he's in my head shooting me those cold looks of his as he orders me to finish his story. I just had too many stories going on at the same time so the moment I finish my Black Butler Story, and it is close, Sesshomaru will be brought back up again. Just stick around and he and Takara will be back :)**

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

**Temple of the Ancients Part 2**

**As they settled down the watch the others of the group chase after the man in purple with the key they needed to get through the final door, Jeanne decided that it was time to confront her sister.**

"So, still being fought over by Reno and the boss, eh?"

Jena glanced out the corner of her eye. "What makes you think that?"

"Well, I don't see a ring on your finger yet, so you must still be in a jab about the two of them."

Jena watched as they all ran into separate doorways just to have the man in purple run out of a different and gave a silent laugh before running away from them again. "I just…I just don't know what to do…"

"Which one," Jeanne looked at her sister. "Can you see yourself with in the future? Which one do you see being a father? Some one that will take care of you in the long-run? Which one can you see yourself living with for the rest of your life? You can see that in one of them, can't you?"

"Yes, but…I don't want to hurt the other one. I have feelings for both of them, but only one of them is…" Jena sighed, shaking her head.

"Don't worry about it," Jeanne stood. "Go with your feelings. You can't choose the wrong person through that. The other will understand and he'll find a woman in the future that he will want just like you want the other. Don't fear the outcome, Jena. Fear what will happen if you don't go through with it."

She knew that her sister was right. She was smart and her sister seemed to know what she was talking about but…she still felt…

"You're new guy doesn't talk too much, does he?" Jena asked, gazing at Vincent. The man in red refused to chase that purple-clothed man anymore and decided to wait as the silent man walked out of the archway and jumped him, lifting him up by the back of his shirt and ripping the key off his neck. The man gave a cheek grin before Vincent set him back down and off he ran.

"No, not really, but considering what he's been through…I can understand why." Jeanne answered, standing up.

"Vincent," Claire grinned as she ran to the man in red as he inserted the key into the lock.

(He can gladly insert his key into my lock! XXDD OMG! I just couldn't resist that urge! The moment I wrote that I just had to say it, lol)

"You are a life saver!" The blonde told him.

He gave a silent smirk before pushing the door open and led the way inside.

Everyone did their best to ignore all the blood and ice that was splattered and scattered all over the place. This had been the room that the Turks had been attacked in. Sephiroth and Sienna had to be just ahead…but were they still there?

"This is the room with the murals…" Aerith gazed around at the hieroglyphs.

"Where are you Sephiroth!" Cloud shouted out in anger.

"So cold…" Everyone turned around at the voice to find Sephiroth standing there behind them.

"We are always by your side." Another voice whispered and they turned again to see Sienna standing in the doorway, a smug look on her face.

"Come," No one moved so Sephiroth turned to the wall himself. "Splendid," He turned back to them. "A treasure house of knowledge…"

"What are you talking about?" Claire demanded.

Sienna began to laugh, Sephiroth joining her, throwing his head back. "Look well," Sienna told them.

"At what?" Cloud asked.

"At that," Sephiroth glanced at him. "Which adds to the knowledge of…?" He paused and glanced away with that small(and SEXY!) smile of his. "We are becoming one with the planet." Sephiroth moved further down the room and stood, staring down at some sort of an altar. "Mother," He mumbled to himself. "…It's almost time…Soon…you will be one with the both of us…"

"How do you plan to become one with the Planet?" Aerith demanded.

"It's simple," Sienna called from her place by the door and the sisters. "When the planet is hurt it will gather spirit energy to heal itself. The bigger the wound the more energy it will have to use."

"I wonder," Sephiroth turned to face them all again. "Just what would happen if there was an injury that threatened the very life of the planet?"

"Think of how much energy would he gathered," Sephiroth gave another laugh. "and at the center of that energy will be us," He told them, gazing at Sienna. "All that boundless energy will be ours."

"By merging with all the energy of the planet," Sienna took over. "We will become new life forms. New existences. Melding with the planet…I will cease to exist as we do now…only to be reborn as 'Gods' to rule over every soul."

"But, the two of you were basically already gods!" Jeanne said.

"Midgar practically worshipped you!" Jena agreed with her sister.

"Gods," Sienna's glare was fierce. "Are not test subjects!"

The Rush sisters winced. The pain the sisters knew she was carrying came out in the growl but they could know that there was even more inside that woman's body. Destroy Nibelheim could not have ended all that pain. Not even close.

"An injury powerful enough to destroy the Planet?" Aerith wondered aloud.

"Behold that mural," Sephiroth turned back to the altar. "The Ultimate Destructive Magic…Meteor."

"That'll never happen!" Cloud claimed.

With another set of laughs, Sephiroth and Sienna disappeared. As Cloud ran all over the room, calling out their names, a voice hit Claire.

~WAKE UP~ It whispered. She crouched over, gripping her head as Jeanne stared up at the wall, gazing as a meteor was heading towards the Planet. This was what Sephiroth and Sienna were waiting for. They were trying to summon this thing to hit the Planet and kill it. She could handle the wanting to destroy and kill the ShinRa employees that were involved with everything that happened but to kill the whole world…that was too far. Jeanne couldn't stand back and let that happen. Not anymore.

"Cloud?" Aerith sounded worried and Jeanne turned. "Claire?"

"What are you doing?" Vincent asked, gazing at the blonde woman.

The twins were twitching, staring at the walls as well, they then began to laugh. "Black Materia…call Meteor…"

"Cloud, Claire, get ahold of yourselves!" Aerith cried with a step forward. They continued to laugh and Jeanne moved forward, whacking them in the back of the head.

(Ah, the almighty Gibbs slap!)

"I remember…" Cloud looked at Jeanne. "I remember the way!" She raised an eyebrow at him and then he smiled. "Is something wrong?"

She opened her mouth to reply but then she shook her head and turned from him. "It's nothing."

"Sephiroth and Sienna got away." Aerith commented.

"Don't worry about it," Claire shook her head. "I got what they were saying." She gazed at the wall again. "This is Meteor, right?"

"Something huge falling from the sky…" Vincent gazed at it.

"It's magic" Jena told them. "Like Sephiroth said.

"The Ultimate Destructive Magic," Aerith said. "It finds small drifting Planets with its magic and then collides with them. This Planet might get destroyed completely."

At that moment, the ground began to shake. "Sephiroth?" Cloud instantly called out.

~Not Me~

The Silver-haired man's voice sounded through the room.

The sidewall shattered and a red dragon popped through, lurching forward in an attack.

"Why does stuff like this always happen to us?" Claire asked, shaking her head.

"Because you're here," Cloud decided to reply.

She turned to her brother. "What was that for?"

Jena sighed and looked at her own sister. "They weren't like that all those years ago. How do you deal with them?"

Jeanne smirked as she grabbed her Sword. "I just remember how bad the two of us were and it sets me to ease."

"We were never like that."

"Oh yeah. I forgot that you were asleep most of the time."

Jena raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

Jeanne continued to smirk. "Nothing, Nothing."

While the twins continued to argue with each other, Aerith, Vincent, and the sisters easily took care of the Dragon. Aerith actually wasn't too bad of a healer because the burns that Jeanne had gotten from the fire would have been a pain to deal with if the woman in pink hadn't been there to heal them.

In truth, Aerith actually wasn't a bad person at all, Jeanne just felt…she just felt that the woman was trying to get in on her territory like she had before with Zack and she wasn't going to let that happen again. Maybe she should talk to her later. Would she be able to keep her attitude low though?

Yes. Jeanne was an adult, not a little brat. She could handle it like an adult and not be immature at all. Right?

"Any sign on Sephiroth?" Cloud demanded as Aerith was done healing Jeanne's burns.

"They disappeared," Aerith told him.

Jeanne turned to her sister to see that she was standing at the altar, staring down at it. She walked over and read what was carved into it.

"Black Materia." She sighed, closing her eyes. "That's why they wanted us here."

"They wanted us to grab the Materia," Jena whispered. "And bring it to them."

Cloud and the others moved up behind them to get a look themselves and Cloud freaked out, screaming the name.

"What should we do?" Aerith asked.

"Let's take it," Claire grinned. "If Sephiroth and Sienna are after this, then they'll have to come after us."

"Hold on," Aerith turned away. "I'll ask." She turned and then began to talk to the temple. "I don't understand. What? Really!" She turned back to them. "They said that the Temple itself is the Black Materia."

"What do they mean?" Cloud wondered.

"What they mean," Vincent took a step forward and placed his hand on the alter. The ground shook. "Is that you have to do something here in order to turn the Temple into the Materia. But if you do that, the one still inside will be killed."

Jena smirked. "Whoever created this was a clever, little guy."

"I see…" Cloud gripped his chin. "The Ancients didn't want this dangerous magic to be taken out of the Temple so easily…"

"It means that it's safe here." Vincent turned away from the altar.

"No," Cloud shook his head. "We've got to think of a way to get it out."

"Sephiroth and Sienna have a lot of different flunkies," Claire agreed. "They wouldn't care about sacrificing someone to get it for themselves. It's not safe."

"So what are we going to do?" Aerith asked.

They all thought for a moment before the sisters looked at each other. "Reeve." They grinned.

"What?" Claire asked. "Who's Reeve?"

"Reeve is Cait Sith." Jena answered her as Jeanne pulled out her cell phone and stepped to the side. "He's an employee of ShinRa that has been traveling with you guys for a while now," She looked at Cloud. "I see that you and Jeanne didn't tell the others."

"What?" the two women looked at the blond. "You knew we were being spied on?"

"There's nothing that I could really do about it anymore," Cloud replied with a shrug. "There was a problem and I couldn't say anything." Aerith went to open her mouth and reply but he cut her off. "We can't let the two of them get their hands on the Black Materia," Cloud agreed. "And we can't let the ShinRa get theirs in it, either." He glanced at Jena.

Jena shook her head and held her hands in the air. "I want nothing to do with it. I was only here in the first place because Liana wanted to come."

"All right," Jeanne turned back to them, shoving her phone in her pocket again. "Cait Sith is waiting for us at the entrance. The Turks arrived and are loading Tseng and Liana in the Helicopter. Reno's waiting on you. Apparently, Zeke had to put him into a headlock to keep him from coming in after you."

Jena sighed and turned to the door. "Let's hurry up and get out of here. Tseng and Liana need to get to the hospital quickly."

"Yeah, and I want some fresh air," Jeanne agreed.

They had to walk sideways across the clock-like platform again through another doorway and towards the exit door before them.

"It's really warm in here," Claire sighed, fanning herself with her hand. It was then that the ground decided to start shaking again.

"This doesn't bode well," Cloud sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

~Why does it always have to happen like this?~

It was then, behind them and over the door they had to use to get out of here a creature with a turtle-like face and claws slid out and roared at them.

Jena took a step forward. "Stay back," She told the others as she reached into her pocket. "I can handle this one."

Jeanne watched as her sister pulled out a red Materia and backed up. The others followed her and watched as Jena tossed the Materia into the air and pulled out one of her guns to shoot it.

The top of the room turned into what looked like storming clouds and a large red and black figure came bursting out of it with a roar at the creature, making the room shake. They all watched as the large creature opened his mouth and fire shot out of it, blasting the other creature in the face and sending it into the oblivion.

"And so the Demon Gate bites the dust!" Claire grinned in victory as the large dragon disappeared.

"You and your names," Cloud shook his head at his sister as the robotic cat came through the door that led to the exit.

"All right! I am here! I'll handle the rest!" Jeanne nodded as Jena left and the others followed her. She went to leave herself, but Cait Sith called her back. "Jeanne, I'm sorry about…about what happened at the Gold Saucer."

"It's all right, Reeve. It's not like anything bad happened due to it. Tseng and Liana will be fine and we'll have the Black Materia so Sephiroth and Sienna won't be able to get their hands on it. Everything's good. But, when you come back with another one of your cats, you can pay me back then, deal?"

The Cat laughed. "Deal." He took off down the hall and Jeanne hurried out after the others.

As the Helicopter flew off, Jeanne turned back to watch with the others as the Temple began to shake. It took a few more seconds but suddenly, a dark light flowed out of the object and they dropped into the ground.

Cloud, Aerith, and Jeanne hurried forward while the others hurried off to the plane to get it ready.

"That's the Black Materia…" Cloud stared down at the hole to the black Materia.

"I'll wait here," Jeanne grinned.

"Yeah," Aerith agreed. "You can go get it, Cloud."

Rolling his eyes with a small smirk, Cloud climbed down to grasp the ball of glass in his hands. "As long as we have this, Sephiroth and Sienna won't be able to use Meteor." He glanced up at the woman in pink. "Hey Aerith, can you guys use this?"

Aerith shook her head. "No, not right now. You need a great spiritual power to use it. Somewhere special. Where there's plenty of Planet's energy…"

"The Promised Land." Y looked up to see Jeanne staring down at them.

Aerith nodded her head. "That's right!"

"The Promised Land!" Cloud shook his head.

"Sephiroth and Sienna are different," Aerith continued. "They're not Ancients."

"They shouldn't be able to find the Promised Land," Cloud told her.

"…Ah, but we have." Jeanne felt a shiver roll down her back from the voice behind her. She turned. This time, it was just Sephiroth; She couldn't see Sienna anywhere. "We are far superior to the Ancients. I became a traveler of the Lifestream and gained the knowledge and wisdom of the Ancients. Sienna has gained the knowledge and wisdom of those after the extinction of the Ancients. And soon, together, we will create the future."

"I won't let you do it!" Aerith tried to push her way towards the man but Jeanne held her back. "The future is not only yours!"

Sephiroth began to float up in the air. "Ah, ha, ha…I wonder?" Jeanne watched for just a moment as he lifted his sword and then floated down to Cloud. Jeanne and Aerith went to run down to him but their feet were stuck to the ground. Looking down she saw their feet covered in ice as a recognizable laugh sounded.

~Dammit Sienna!~ Jeanne growled.

There was nothing that they could do as something happened to Cloud. He was moaning and struggling against himself as he held out his hand, giving Sephiroth the Black Materia.

"Well done." Sephiroth smirked before he disappeared again. The Ice let Jeanne and Aerith go and the ex-SOLDIER immediately slid down the hole in time to grab Cloud just as he passed out.

With a slew of curses, Jeanne looked up at the cliff again just in time to see another Cait Sith pop up and introduce himself to Aerith.

"We need to get somewhere we can rest," She called up to Aerith. "Let's head back to," She bit her lip but shook her head. "Gongaga is closest to here. Let's get some rest there."

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	28. Chapter 27

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

**And Beyond**

"**Jeanne…"**

They were all in Zeke's house again. Cloud had yet to wake up since what happened at the Temple of the Ancients. Claire was extremely nervous and had barely slept in the last three days. She stayed by her brothers bed, watching him. It was only now that Tifa, Yuffie, and Renee took her to get something to eat for the night and Jeanne had taken her place.

"Jeanne," The voice repeated from behind her. "I want you to come with me."

In confusion, Jeanne turned around to face the woman in pink. "What?"

Aerith took a deep breath. "Look, I know we don't get along too well after all that's happened but I…I need your help. I need you to come with me."

"Where?"

"The city of the Ancients. It's right by the Bone Village. I have Holy and from there, I can stop Meteor. But…If I go by myself…I need you to come with me. Just in case. Please! You're the strongest one here and you would be able to handle Sephiroth and Sienna just long enough for me to be done. Please Jeanne, I know it'll work!"

The young woman was practically begging the woman sitting before her. Jeanne stared at her for a moment, considering what was being asked. This woman…she couldn't stand her, it was true, but…

Jeanne stood. "Fine. But just me and you. Let's leave while everyone else is asleep."

Aerith gave a nod before turning to the door. "All my things are already packed."

"Aerith," Jeanne stood. "How are we going to get across the water to Bone Village?"

The woman in pink froze before putting a hand to her head. "I didn't know that we had to cross water."

Jeanne sighed before grabbing her bag and pulling her phone from her jacket. "I'll take care of it. Just grab your stuff." Aerith nodded and took off as the phone rang. She stepped out herself into the dark night. The phone rang twice.

"_Rush._"

"Jena," Jeanne greeted her sister. "I need your help."

_**~Estuans interius **_

_**ira vehementi **_

_**Estuans interius **_

_**ira vehementi **_

_**Sephiroth **_

_**Sephiroth~ **_

**Cloud's conscious slowly came back. **Opening his eyes, he found himself in a bed, Claire, Tifa, and Barret all standing over him. He instantly wondered where Jeanne was…where they all were…and sat up. His head was pounding.

"You look like you were havin' a nightmare." Barret told the blond.

"How are you feeling?" Claire asked her brother.

"I seem to be okay," Cloud answered.

"That's good." Barret said as the two girls gave a sigh of relief. "Man, I didn't know what was gonna happen."

Cloud glanced around the room. He recognized it. This was the room he stayed in in Zeke's house. They were back in Gongaga. Instantly, he turned to his sister. "Where's Jeanne?"

Claire turned her head as Barret sighed and Tifa crossed her arms behind her back.

"Jeanne is gone," Tifa answered him. "Aerith is too."

"WHAT!"

"Everyone's out looking for them," Barret told him.

Cloud shook his head, replaying his dream through his mind. "Aerith said something…something about heading for the City of the Ancients."

"By herself! Barret demanded. "Why did she go by herself!"

"She's not by herself," Claire shook her head. "That must be why Jeanne's gone too. Aerith must have asked Jeanne to go with her in case of an attack."

The AVALANCHE leader nodded, accepting that answer. "Well, we're gonna go too."

"Only the Ancients, only Aerith, can save us from Meteor," Cloud whispered.

"Then we must go. What if something happens? If Sephiroth and Sienna find her, even if Jeanne's with her, they're in trouble. Jeanne might be strong but if Sephiroth and Sienna attack her at the same time there's no way she'll be able to handle herself. Not unless she's been hiding her power from us or something along that line." Tifa told the blond on the bed.

Cloud turned slightly pale. "Sephiroth…they already know."

"Then why are you still sitting there!" Barret demanded.

"Let's go, Cloud." Tifa said.

"No." Cloud shook his head. "I might…lose it again." Jeanne and Aerith had told them all what had happened and Claire frowned. Would the same thing happen to her? "If Sephiroth comes near me I might…"

"Yeah, godammit! It's 'cuz of you that Sephiroth and Sienna got the Black Materia in the first place. It's your damn fault!" Barret growled.

"My fault?" Cloud demanded, looking at the large man.

"I know you got problems…" The man said. "Hell, we all do. But you don't even understand yourself. But you gotta understand that there ain't no getting offa this train we're on, till we get to the end of the line."

"Cloud," Tifa took a step forward. "We came this far…Aren't you going to settle up with Sephiroth?"

"No…" Cloud grabbed his head, shaking it. "I'm afraid. If this keeps up, I may go crazy! I'm afraid…"

"Just a damn jackass, that's what you are…Yo, jes' think about it…How many people in this world do ya think really understand themselves? People get depressed in life because they don't know what's up. But, they go on living. They don't run away…Isn't that how it is?" Barret gave Cloud a look before leaving the room.

"Cloud…you'll come with us, right?" Tifa asked as she followed after Barret. "I believe in you."

Claire stared at her brother for a moment before she turned to leave herself. "I'm going after Jeanne. And Aerith. I'm not going to stand here and let something bad happen to them, no matter what happens to me. No matter if Sienna or Sephiroth can take control."

As the door shut, Cloud quivered. "What…am I supposed to do? Pull out of here? Pull out?...To where?" The blond placed his feet on the found as he held his head. "I'm afraid to find out the truth…but…why?" He gave a quiver as he stood to his feet. Could he just let Jeanne and Aerith run off like that?

When Cloud walked out the door, he found the group scattered across the yard. Zeke was standing at his Aunt and Uncle's house, talking to them. Cait Sith and Red Xlll were talking, Renee was trying to break up the argument that Yuffie and Cid were having, Claire was standing beside Vincent in silence, and Barret and Tifa were on either side of the door.

"Cloud…" Tifa sighed.

"Hey, how are you?" Barret asked. "I just wanna know, which is it gonna be? You wanna find out about yourself? Or are you afraid to find out? Either way, you stay around here and about all you can do is worry about it. Even if you do go nuts again when you see Sephiroth…if it happens, it happens. I'll go upside your spikey white head and bring you back to normal." The man assured him.

Cloud smirked.

"Cloud," Tifa took a step forward. "It'll be all right. We're all with you."

"If it happens," Claire called to her brother. "Don't worry about it."

Cloud gave a nod, that man's voice running through his head again.

Tifa grabbed her friend's hand. "Come on, let's go find Jeanne and Aerith."

"So, where exactly are we going this time?" Zeke asked as he walked over to them.

"The Bone village," Claire answered him as they all began to leave the village.  
>Zeke froze and pulled a look of horror. "Are you fuckin' kiddin' me!"<p>

_**~Sors immanis **_

_**Et inanis **_

_**Sors immanis **_

_**Et inanis **_

_**Veni, veni, venias, **_

_**Ne me mori facias **_

_**Veni, veni, venias, **_

_**Ne me mori facias~ **_

"**Stop being such a wuss,"** Cid told Zeke as they wandered off of the Tiny Bronco and go towards the large bones that were just ahead of them.

"Oh, why?" Zeke didn't seem to be able to hear the other man's words. "Why did we have to come back here? Couldn't they have gone somewhere…without my boss?"

"You're Boss?" Claire asked as the others all looked at him.

"Yep. I'm a...er, was an Archeologist here until I ran off after brat-face there when she took my wallet," He shoved a thumb over his shoulder at Yuffie; the young ninja stuck her tongue out at him. "This was where I was working."

"And so you ran off without telling anyone?" Barret asked.

"Yep."

"Your Boss is gonna be pissed to see you." Renee smirked.

"Undoubtedly. I'm just hoping that she's not here." Zeke mumbled as they enter the camp. Heads instantly flew up.

"Zeke?" A few voices called out. "Is that you?"

"Does it look like anyone else?" The Fair replied.

A brown-haired man gave a smile and paused before them. "Welcome back."

"What's up, Kite? How's it been going?" Zeke asked as they exchanged high-fives.

"How's it been? You might wanna just leave again, man. The boss is pissed."

Zeke's smile turned to a look of horror. "How bad?" He winced.

"Very. Tore RJ a new one when he even said something about you," Kite answered, shaking his head. "But then again, what did you expect when you just up and left like that? You know that seeming has how you've known the Boss longer than any of us."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. So let's try and get this finished quickly before the Boss shows up. To get to the other side of the Sleeping Forest, we need that Lunar Harp still, right?"

"Yes," Kite nodded his head. "But that's another problem."

"Oh God," Zeke shook his head wildly. "Don't tell me…"

"The Boss has it." Zeke let out a slew of curses.

"What's wrong with that?" Tifa asked. "They'll let us use it, right?"

"Oh, not the Boss," Kite answered her. "Not when Zeke's on your squad. The Boss' gonna tear him apart."

"Oh please," Zeke shook his head. "You know the Boss won't do a damn thing. I am her big thing, after all."

"You are, are you?" A voice came from behind them.

Zeke froze and slowly turned his head as the others followed suit and Kite backed away slowly and the other workers there all froze to watch what would happen.

It was a woman standing behind Zeke, her arms crossed with a furious look. At the height of 5'7' and in the middle twenties, she held long, silky violet hair and deep matching eyes full of rage. Dressed in a pair of purple shorts and a white tank top and boots, a chain disappeared into her shirt and a set of dragons hung from her ears.

Zeke gave a squeaky laugh. "Eh heh, hey…Myra. How's it going?"

The woman was silent for a moment before her face seemed to turn even more enraged and moments later, Zeke went flying across the camp, crashing into some of the bones that the others had been digging up.

It turns out that the woman was Myra Zoon, a runaway from Midgar that wanted to dig up history about the Ancients. She had been an Archeologist in Bone Village, its founder, for years now and they found more and more each day, and not just here. Zeke had come across Myra when she was moving across the land towards one of her other sites and Zeke had joined her. Myra had a very bad temper with the young Fair, and was enraged that he had just up and left one day.

Zeke had been inside Myra's tent for the last hour now; her shouts could be heard at him as the others all ate dinner with the other Archeologists. When they finally came out, Myra still looked made but pleased with herself as Zeke looked scared and was rubbing his ass from her kick before.

"All right," Myra looked at them all. "Zeke told me that all of you are looking for the two women that came through here the other day."

"You saw Jeanne and Aerith?" Cloud jumped to his feet.

Myra nodded. "If that's what their names were. A woman in pink and another in a white coat."

"That's them," Claire nodded. "When were they here?"

"They arrived in the middle of the afternoon yesterday; a helicopter dropped them off."

~Jena~ Tifa thought to herself.

"They stayed here over the night," Myra continued. "And left about an hour before you guys showed up."

"Then they can't be too far ahead," Renee looked up from the fire they were sitting around.

Myra grinned. "Zeke told me that you wanted to go through the forest but doing so in the middle of the night is not a good idea; even with the Lunar Harp."

"The Lunar Harp?" Tifa asked.

"The Sleeping forest, as its name says, sends anyone that walks in into a walking sleep, sending them through the forest in circles. The only reason the two girls weren't was because of the Ancient in pink."

"Wait," Barret looked surprised. "You know Aerith's an Ancient? How?"

"I'm not stupid," Myra replied. "I lived in Midgar. I've seen more than one. Two, but that's still more than one."

"So, can we use this Lunar Harp?" Claire asked.

Myra nodded. "Yeah, but I'm not going to give you the chance to run off with Zeke again nor the Lunar Harp. I'll be going with you to make sure that both return to the camp."

"Are you serious?" Zeke popped up as the other Archeologists all laughed at the horrified man.

"Yes, I am. I'm not letting you run off like that again without telling me and I'll be damned if I let you run off with the Harp," She looked at the others. "No offense, but I just don't know you, therefore I can't trust you."

"That's understandable," Tifa assured the woman. "I have no problem with that."

"Just…what are the two of them doing back there?" Myra asked, taking a seat beside Renee and Yuffie, crossing her arms around her legs.

"We're not too sure," Claire answered. "But whatever they're doing, we have to help them."

_**com**_

_**Veni, veni, venias, (Gloriosa)  
>Ne me mori facias (Generosa)<br>Veni, veni, venias, (Gloriosa)  
>Ne me mori facias (Generosa)<strong>_

_**Sephiroth**_

_**Sephiroth~**_

"**And now," **His smooth voice spoke. "We wait."

Sienna opened her eyes, taking in the sight of them man that was outlined against the moon. His silver locks came off as a dark grey as he stared down into the forest below them. They had followed Jeanne and Aerith here, and now they were just waiting as the two women slept inside the strange building for the night.

Everything was coming together. They were another step closer to finally getting the revenge that they both wanted against all that was done on them. And yet, at the thought of Jeanne and Jena, Sienna felt a tugging at her heart. She felt it every time that she had to fight the sisters; especially in the Temple where she nearly killed the elder Rush. If Sephiroth hadn't of been there…

"What are you thinking about?"

Sienna brought herself from her thoughts. He had turned to face her now as they stood on the cliff above the ruined City of the Ancients. She shook her head. "Nothing important."

"The sisters?" He asked after a moment of silence. She didn't move. He turned to face the moon again. "Don't worry. Everything will be the way it should be. Soon. The two of us will sail across this Universe with this planet just as Mother did long ago," He glanced over his shoulder at her again. "You still want to go, don't you?"

She watched him for another moment before moving up beside him, curling an arm around his before grabbing his hand. She leaned her head against his shoulder. He was like a cloak to her, a cave that protected her from everything that they had learned. When she fell, he picked her up. When she was mad, he was there to calm her. This man had been with her since she was a child. How could she leave him now after he had captured her heart?

"And Beyond." She told him simply.

Sephiroth turned and glanced down at her in silence. That (very sexy) smirk of his came to his face and he lowered his head, pressing his lips to her forehead as he closed his eyes. "And Beyond."

**I LOVE THAT SONG! I listen to it every night as I got to sleep, XXDD Sad, right? Lol. Damn! Why can't Sephiroth be mine!**

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	29. Chapter 28

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**This Chapter is for Loveless and YoungReckless. I greatly appreciate that the two of you are continuing to read this story. I know its long, (after all so is the game) and I hope that you see it through to the end and through the movie, Dirge of Cerberus, and I hope that you come back for the final that I have planning out in my head right now. Thank you two so much! :)**

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

**Aerith**

"**So, just who is it that we're after again?"**

Cloud, Claire, Cid, Renee, Vincent, and Myra took a break inside one of the ruined houses that belonged to the Ancients all those years ago. They had stopped for a short break that turned into a sleep till nightfall; the trip had been harder than the six of them had believed.

"We are going after Jeanne Rush and Aerith Gainsborough. We don't know what they're going to do here; we just know that they're here." Renee answered her.

"Why did they run off?"

"We don't know. It has to do something to do with what's going on, though."

Renee and the others continued to talk but Claire lost herself in a slight pain in the side of her head. It was like a stinging and for some reason…she felt like…like she could sense Jeanne and Aerith nearby, but not just them. They were close, all four of them. How could she be telling this, though?

"I feel it…" Cloud whispered. His sister looked him. Was he feeling the same thing that she was?

"Do you know what TIME it is!" Cid demanded.

Cloud turned and looked at the rest of them. "Aerith is here. So Jeanne must be too."

"But," Claire lowered her head. "So are Sephiroth and Sienna."

"They are?" Renee pulled a face as both blonds nodded their heads.

"If that's true," Vincent's deep voice spoke. "Then we're in for it."

(Damn his voice is so sexy! You all know who that is, right? Steven Blum? Roger Smith from Big O and Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop! So sexy! XXDD)

"Hey, how do you know?" Cid demanded.

"It's not an excuse. I feel it in my soul." Cloud shook his head.

"Shit, Cloud," Cid ran a worried hand through his hair. "We can't be sittin' around on our asses."

Vincent nodded his head in agreement. "If that's true, we should hurry. Something terrible could happen at any moment."

"Right," Claire hurried to the door. "Let's go find Jeanne and Aerith."

Cloud seemed to be making the right places on where to go, since they soon entered another building. There was a blue passage in the middle of the room beneath the stairs. The Stairs looked like glass as it led down to a ruined city.

"What is this place?" Claire asked, gazing around at the molded over city.

"This," Myra gazed around the buildings. "This is a legend, my friends. This it the City of the Ancients!"

"All right, now let's go!" Claire led the way through the city.

"What? But…this is a treasure! I've been looking for this for years! You can't expect me not to stop and look at it!"

"Well, you can look at it later. Let's just get the girls!" Cid told her.

"Look there!" Renee halted and lifted her hand to point out across the water. Posts led up to a small stage-like platform that a woman in pink and a woman in white stood upon. Aerith was in the middle of it, on her knees and her hands gripped together as Jeanne stood on the steps, just watching.

"Aerith?" Cloud called out their names. "Jeanne?" Neither moved, seeming to ignore everyone that had just arrived.

"We'll stay right here," Renee told the twins as she pushed them towards the pillars.

Cloud quickly made his way past Jeanne; she didn't move except to grab Claire's arm to keep her from going past her as well. She turned to look at the other woman and opened her mouth to speak but her voice was lost at the cold, stone look on Jeanne's face. What was going on?

Just then, Cloud fell to his knees, gripping his head before he could say anything. Claire watched, biting her lip. Normally, moments like this involved her as well, but it wasn't. It wasn't happening to her now, but why? What was holding it back from her?

Cloud drew out the Buster Blade and turned to stand before Aerith as no one dared to move. No one said a thing, watching as he struggled to move. Only when he lifted his sword did Jeanne let go of his sister and Claire immediately moved, grabbing her brother's arm.

"Cloud! What are you doing?" She demanded. "Knock it off!"

That seemed to knock the blond out of it and he stumbled backwards, Claire following him. "Ugh…what are you making me do?"

"We're not making you do anything." A voice chuckled. "You all do it on your own."

Ice swirled up around Jeanne's feet, locking her in place as Sienna leaned against the railing of the small island, watching them with that smile on her face.

"Sienna!" Claire snarled, turning to face her.

The black-haired woman gave a chuckle and stayed silent, just watching. Aerith opened her eyes slowly just to lock with Jeanne's one more time before a large shadow dropped down from the hole above her. Jeanne watched as Sephiroth fell down at them. She watched it all move slowly. She held the strength to break the ice around her feet in moments and run forward to knock Sephiroth's blade away but…she couldn't make herself move. She was shouting at herself to move, to save her, but her body wouldn't move. So all she could do was watch.

Watch as Sephiroth's sword, Masamune, slid in through Aerith's body, the long blade halting moments from Cloud's feet, the woman's blood dripping into a pile at his feet.

Everyone watched it over and over again in their heads, no one knowing what to think; what to say. Aerith's arms dropped and she fell forward on the blade.

Everyone knew what that meant. Sienna's small 'Hnnh' could be heard in the horrified silence as she stared at Jeanne's solid, straight look.

Sephiroth lifted his head and looked at Cloud, for a moment with that small smirk before ripping the blade out of Aerith. She was still for a moment before falling forward and Jeanne watched as Holy, the Materia that Aerith had been holding, fell into the water, before returning her attention to the twins as they huddled over Aerith.

"this can't be real," Cloud said, shaking her.

"Don't worry about her too much." Sienna grinned at him.

"Soon the girl will be a part of the planet's energy." Sephiroth was staring up at the sky again. "All that is left is to go to the North. The Promised Land waits for us over the Snowy fields. There we will-"

"Shut up." Cloud's voice cut Sephiroth off and they all looked at him. "The cycle of nature and your stupid plan don't mean a thing. Aerith is gone," He turned back to the woman in his arms. "Aerith will no longer talk, no longer laugh, cry…or get angry. What about us? What are WE supposed to do?" Aerith was left in Claire's arms as Cloud hunched over the floor. "What about my pain? My fingers are tingling. My mouth is dry. My arms are burning!"

Sienna glanced at Jeanne. "Almost like that moment with Zack, isn't it Jeanne?"

Jeanne turned from the twins, finally knocking the ice off of her feet. "No, it's not. It's nothing like his…" Her voice faltered before she cleared her throat and crossed her arms, watching some more.

"What are you saying?" Sephiroth smirked. "Are you trying to tell me that you have feelings too?"

"Of course we do!" Claire shouted at the silver-haired man. "We're not monsters like you!"

Sephiroth then began to laugh. "Stop acting as if you're sad. There's no need to act as though you're angry, either." Sephiroth began to float again. "Because, the two of you are…" Jeanne's feet stomped, ringing against the stairs and echoing around the area as she walked down them, making her way towards Vincent and the others. He and Sienna shared a smirk as she shared the unvoiced message before both of them disappeared.

Jeanne was about to jumped down onto one of the pillars when a slash went off and she turned to see that Sienna had left a parting gift for them. It was the large, red creature; Jenova-Life.

With a sigh, Jeanne pulled out her sword and jumped past the others before they even knew that the creature was there. With a silent growl, the woman performed Climharazard, covering the creature in ice before shoving her sword through it and ripping upwards. The ice shattered as her blade traveled up and the creature fell over the railing and into the water. Everyone turned in surprise as the battle ended before anyone else even knew that it had begun. Claire set Aerith against the rail and stood, a surprised look on her face.

"Jeanne…"

"So fast," Myra whispered to herself as the rest of them moved towards the small platform. "But…"

"Why?" Cloud glared at her. "Why couldn't you save her?" Jeanne stayed silent, gazing at the blond from over her shoulder. "You could have saved her!"

~You're right~ She told herself. ~I could have. But why didn't I? Why couldn't I make myself move? Was it for revenge? For something as petty as feelings for what she had done all those years ago with Zack? And what she had been trying to do with Cloud?~ She shook her head and turned, walking past them all in silence. Cloud stared after her for a moment before turning her head back towards the woman in pink.

Everyone but Myra and Jeanne moved forward to say their goodbyes to Aerith.

"Why don't you say something?" Myra asked the silent woman beside her.

Jeanne was silent for another moment. "Because…she…I…we weren't exactly friends."

"But you still came with her," Myra pointed out. "If you didn't like her, you wouldn't have come out her all the way that you did."

Jeanne continued to watch for a moment before turning away and walking away. "It doesn't matter anymore."

Cloud picked Aerith up and took her outside of the building again, the others all following him to the small lake and watched as he carried her out to the middle of it. They all watched as she sunk peacefully into the water and the darkness below. Cloud backed up out of the lake and stood on the shore, his back to the others and his head hanging.

"Everyone, listen to me," He spoke after a moment. "I'm Cloud," He turned to face them all. "And this is my sister, Claire. We are Ex-SOLDIERs, born in Nibelheim. We came to settle up with Sephiroth and Sienna, Jeanne leading our way."

"I heard that before," Cid scratched the back of his head and Renee elbowed him in the side. He gave a grin

"I came here on my own free will…or so I though." Cloud said. "However…to tell the truth, I'm afraid of myself." He turned again. "There is a part of me that I don't understand. That part made me give the Black Materia to Sephiroth." He glanced to his sister. "If you hadn't stopped me, Claire, Aerith might have been…There's something inside of me. A person who is not really me. That's why I should quit this journey…before I do something terrible. Both of us," Claire pulled a face but her brother continued to speak. "But…I am going. Both of us. They destroyed my home seven years ago, killed Aerith, and is now trying to destroy the Planet. I'll never forgive…Sephiroth. Never forgive Sienna. I…" He clenched his fist. "I must go on." He looked at all of them. "I have a favor to ask of you. Will you all come with the two of us? To keep me from doing something terrible?"

Vincent was silent for a moment as he stared at Claire. She was fighting herself to keep from looking at him. "…I guess so." He answered, trying to ignore the grin that sprouted across her face.

"Jeanne, how did Aerith try to save the planet from Meteor? What was she trying to do?" Cloud asked her.

Jeanne had been fighting with herself over whether or not was the time to tell Cloud everything. She wanted to, she was fighting to, but that voice…Zack's voice…was telling her to wait. Wait just a little bit longer. She didn't know if it was actually Zack's voice…it sounded like him…but she chose to listen to it. But only for a little bit longer. Lying to Cloud was starting to tear her apart.

"I don't know," She replied. "I brought her here and she began to pray. I just watched. I guess we'll never know."

"We still have a chance, though," Claire told them all. We must get that Black Materia before Sephiroth and Sienna use it!"

Cloud nodded in agreement. "Let's go."

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	30. Disc Two

**All right! Disc one is finally over! Damn, that took longer than I thought that it would. Sorry about that, but Disc two is shorter than that and Disc three is, well, that's basically just the final fight. Thanks to all of you guys that have kept reading this, even though it took forever so far, XDXD. I will see you all in the second Disc later this week! :)**


	31. Chapter 29

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

**I HATE SNOW!**

"**This is where Ifalna lived. Before ShinRa abducted her, anyway."**

Zeke and Tifa looked at the woman beside them. "How do you know that?" He asked.

"The books Sienna left for me." Jeanne answered him. "She left a lot of things from that lab in Nibelheim."

Tifa nodded. "Yeah, and there's probably a lot more than just what you have. Perhaps, if we need any more answers."

"I'm surprised that you'd be willing to even think about going back to that place after all that happened there." Zeke commented to the woman that was sitting beside him.

"Yes, well, it was my home. I can't blame Nibelheim for something just because of what happened there." She replied, shivering in the cold. Barret had bought everyone coats and they all stood there, starring down the snowy slope, trying to think of a way to continue on the path through the snow.

"I sure as hell can," Fair muttered under his voice, crossing his arms.

"I…HATE…SNOW!" Everyone turned to stare at the woman that stood beside Claire and Vincent. Myra had decided to come with them after everything that had happened. When asked why, the woman couldn't give a straight answer. Her reply was always – "It just feels right.". Jeanne didn't care, as long as she didn't get in her way. "I hate it! I hate it! I hate it! Always have. Always will. And will never change it!"

They all gave a laugh at their new companion before Yuffie turned to her Aunt. "Aunt Yuie, I'm hungry!"

Renee shook her head at her niece. "We just ate, Yuffie."

"But you know me, I burn it off fast! Let's get something to eat and get out of the cold weather."

"There they are!" A voice shouted, cutting off anymore thoughts of food and being cold. Jeanne whipped around to see Elena and a few Infantrymen at the front of the village. "Hurry!"

""Oh dear," Claire shook her head. "Not her. Why her?" None of them moved as the three enemies ran over, huffin' and puffin'.

"I won't let you go any further!" Elena told them.

"Just what's down there that you want to be kept a secret?" Myra asked.

"It's a se-cr-et! It really doesn't matter! But you got real guts doin' my boss like that!" Elena growled.

"Do you mean Tseng?" Claire asked.

"What?" Zeke growled, taking a step forward. "We save all three of them punk and they still tell you that we're the one that hurt them?"

"Don't think you can fool me, liar! Jean's just trying to protect her sister, but I don't believe her either!"

"Just shut up," Jeanne scowled. "Either do what you're here for or let us get on our way."

"You're not going anywhere!" Elena told them. "We're locking you up until Reno and the others show up."

"Reno?" Myra asked herself. "Surely not that Reno."

"We don't want to fight," Jeanne told the woman. "We'll go peacefully."

Everyone, even the ones on her side, looked surprised. "Are you sure?" Claire asked her. Her look told them all to be quiet and so they just followed the enemy to a house and watched as they locked the door behind them.

Jeanne immediately turned to Barret and Cait Sith. "Did you get them?"

"You betcha'." Barret smirked, crossing his arms proudly.

"Of course!" The Robotic Cat jumped up and down before moving over to the closet and opening it. A bunch of snowboards fell out and Zeke picked one up.

"So, just how are we going to get out of this village with these, huh?" Zeke asked, holding up the board.

Jeanne grinned. "What's wrong, Zeke? Never been snowboarding before?"

His mouth fell open. "That's the best thing you can come up with?"

"Well, it's either down the slope or fighting to get away." Renee was smiling but Yuffie didn't look too happy about it either. "Which would you prefer?"

Zeke frowned as Tifa opened one of the back doors. "Fighting."

"Just get outside!" Cid shoved his foot into the man's stomach, pushing him outside.

Jeanne shook her head, grabbing her own board. "One would think that they'd have guards at every exit."

"Yeah, well, think about who you're talking about." Claire gave a laugh as she picked up another.

Jeanne gave a small laugh. "That's true." She then sighed as Cloud shoved passed her without a look. "I take it that he's not talking to me."

"No, he's not really talking to anyone at this moment," Claire answered her as everyone moved towards the edge of the village where the drop was. The went off, two at a time, leaving just Jeanne and Claire to go last. "I know you're on our side, right Jeanne?"

The woman in white looked at her friend for a moment, straightening from locking the snowboard to her feet. "Of course."

Claire gave a nod and took off down the hill with a shout. Jeanne shook her head before glancing over her shoulder to see that Elena and the Infantrymen had discovered that they were free and heading towards them. She gave a grin, a little wave, and then down the hill she went.

The snowboarding was fun as the cold air froze Jeanne's face. She passed a few of them; watching Red Xlll and Cait Sith trying to snowboard was funny as hell and Vincent seemed to be the king of it as he and Jeanne were the first ones to the bottom and had to wait for the others to join them.

"That was cool as hell!" Zeke exclaimed.

"And yet you're the one that didn't want to partake in this." Tifa replied, tossing her board aside with the others.

"Yeah, well…"

"I HATE SNOW!" Myra lifted her board and threw it as far away from her as she could before jumping on Barret's back. "I am not walking another inch in this blasted material!"

"You really don't like snow, do you?" Yuffie asked with a laugh as they all began to start walking.

Renee shook her head as she let her hair loose to warm her neck. "I just hope the next time we have to travel through snow it'll be in an aircraft with a heater." She admitted.

Cid gave a laugh. "I second that."

They traveled for what seemed like forever. It was starting to get too cold the higher they went and more and more people stared passing out. Zeke had to carry Tifa while Vincent took Claire. Cid held Renee and Jeanne carried Yuffie. Cait Sith had shut down due to the cold and was in Jeanne's arms. Barret had been carrying Red Xlll, Cloud, and Myra(surprisingly) but he finally passed out, leaving just the four of them standing there.

"Dammit!" Zeke groaned, hitching Tifa up higher. "What the hell are we going to do now?"

Jeanne sighed and shook her head. "I…I don't know."

"You know, being out here in the snow like this is a bad idea," The four of them turned to see and elderly man with white hair walking towards them. "What are ya'll doing?"

"What does it look like we're doin'?" Cid growled, standing up.

Jeanne gave the man a look before turning to the other. "My apologies."

The elder man chuckled and held up his hands. "No need. Here, come with me. I have a house nearby that you can rest at and warm up in."

Jeanne gave a smile. "Thank you," She turned back to all the friends that were passed out in the snow. "Just how are we going to get them all back?"

Zeke grinned and pulled out a summon stone. "And that is why you have me! Shiva!" He crushed the ball in his hand and from the swirling cortex behind him, the blue, floating woman popped out. "Could you make as an Ice sled to get these passed out idiots to this guy's house?" The Summon closed her eyes and waved her hand before disappearing.

"You know," Jeanne looked at Zeke as he dragged Barret, Red Xlll, and Cloud towards the Ice sled. "Shiva's not going to like being called up for just foolish things like that, you know."

"Eh, Cry me a River." Zeke replied.

_**~You told me you loved me**_

_**Why did you leave me, all alone**_

_**Now you tell me you need me**_

_**When you call me, on the phone**_

_**Girl I refuse, you must have me confused**_

_**With some other guy**_

_**Your bridges were burned, and now it's your turn**_

_**To cry, cry me a river**_

_**Cry me a river**_

_**Cry me a river**_

_**Cry me a river, yeah yeah~**_

**The four of them rested, talking to the man, Holzoff, for a few hours as the others still slept. **His home was extremely warm and the hot chocolate that he made was doing wonders. The elder man was quite funny as he told them jokes and he seemed very pleased that he was one again in contact with other people.

"I see the others are awake." The five of them watched as Cloud and the others all walked into the room. It was pretty packed with all of them and Holzoff was laughing. "You all collapsed at the great Glacier. It's a miracle you're all right."

"Who are you?" Claire asked as her brother scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"This is Holzoff," Jeanne introduced them.

"I've been living here 20 years now," The man told them.

"But why do you live all the way out here?" Renee asked as she sat down on the arm of the couch Cid sat on.

"Have you ever heard about those who challenged the cliff?" Holzoff asked.

"No." Tifa shook her head.

"There's an old legend that says something fell from the sky here a long time ago." The man said. One single name traveled through their minds. ~Jenova~ "That's what's supposed to have pushed the land up and formed this cliff. 30 years ago, Yamski and I took this cliff on to see what was on the other side. But, we weren't prepared for it. We did expect the temperature to be low but…" He turned to look out the window. "On that cliff, there's always a biting cold wind. The Cold air lowers your body temperature. Yamski, was below me. He cut his own rope…" Claire and Tifa exchanged a look. "…and I didn't even notice." He looked at them again. "Ever since then, I've settled here…continuing to challenge the cliff, and provide warning and shelter to my fellow climbers. If you're going to climb the cliff, there are two precautions you'll need to take. First, check your route. It's hard to find because of all the snow. Second, once you get to a ledge, make sure you warm yourselves up, understand?"

"Got it." Jeanne nodded.

Zeke stood and put an arm around Tifa's shoulders. "Oh, I'm sure the two of us can think of a way to warm ourselves up, right Tif?" Everyone raised an eyebrow as Tifa grew red and then punched the man in the stomach, sending him flying through the front door and out into the snow.

Jeanne smiled and shook her head as they all laughed and stood up to leave.

"You know what I've been thinking?" Barret began as they all stared up at the cliff they were about to start climbing.

"What is it?" Cloud asked him.

"…Seein' a place like this, makes you realize how awesome nature is. But, if anyone ever told me to live here, I'd tell them to…you know…" He took a breath. "I tell you one thing though; if I did have to live here I'd change things around 'n' make it better. I guess the total opposite of this would be…Midgar. When you think of it that way, ShinRa don't seem so bad…" Barret then gave a growl and stomped his feet. "What the hell am I sayin'! ShinRa, not bad!"

"Not all of them are bad, Barret," Myra replied from his back again. "Some of them are just working there for the money."

Barret gave a snort.

"I can't take this cold!" Yuffie moaned to her Aunt.

"Just a little longer now, Yuffie. The first thing we'll do after all this is over is go to Costa Del Sol and the beach, all right?"

"We'd better."

"I wonder what's at the top of that cliff?" Red Xlll wondered. "Well we shall see…"

"Excited, eh?" Claire grinned at the red beast she stood beside. "Are you going to be able to climb the cliff?"

"If there are edge I can stand on, I can jump to them as long as they are not so far apart," Red Xlll replied. "I'll be fine, but thank you for your concern." Her grin turned to a smile.

"This is secret info, but…Rufus is going to arrive here, too." Cait Sith told them.

"He is, is he?" Cloud stepped up beside him. "That means that Jena will be here as well." He glanced at Jeanne as she and Tifa talked. "Maybe I can get more answers out of her than I can her sister."

"Just don't go too far, Cloud." Cait Sith told him. "You might not like what you find."

"Y'know…standing here like this…Kinda makes you feel like the Planet's not on our side, don't it? Of course we can't even compete. I mean…The Planet doesn't even notice us humans…" Barret sighed.

"And sadly," Myra shook her head. "That's true. Just get me to the cliff and I can climb myself. You won't be able to climb and carry me at the same time."

"I could," The man replied, crossing his arms. "But I won't."

"This blizzard's nothing!" Tifa cried as she shivered and rubbed her arms. "I gotta say that or…brr…"

Jeanne gave a grin. "Don't worry. Just like Renee suggested, a trip to the warm beach after this will be exactly what we need." Tifa nodded happily as her teeth began to chatter. "That, and maybe you shouldn't wear shorts and half a top next time we come out into the snow."

"I agree." The woman nodded.

"Shut up before you ruin what I get to look at!" Zeke cried slapping a hand to his forehead. "If you tell her that, her skin will disappear!"

"Then maybe that's a good thing." Tifa mumbled.

"Damn!" Cid cursed. "If I could just get back in the air, this cliff would be nothing!"

"Didn't Renee say something like that before?" Yuffie asked.

"Yeah. So?"

"You copycat."

Cid frowned. "Why don't you like me?"

Yuffie's eyes narrowed. "Should I? All you do is curse and smoke! You're nowhere near perfect for my Auntie!"

"Oh, stop fighting, you too!" Renee told them. "You're both like children!"

Vincent seemed to be the only one not affected by the cold or what the others around him were saying. "I wonder what's on the other side of the cliff…"

Claire nodded. "Well, let's get going."

The climb wasn't hard, and the cave they entered was a shiny mix of blue, purple, and green. They had to climb up another wall again and entered another cave opening where they decided to take a small break before heading back outside just to come face to face with another cliff to climb.

"I swear if we have to climb one more damn cliff and go through one more damn cave I'm gonna kill Cloud!" Zeke growled.

"What?" The blond looked at the man beside him. "Why me? What did I do?"

"Because I hate you." He answered plainly. "I thought that was obvious."

"Let's just go," Jeanne replied, starting the third climb up. They reached the cave and it only took Zeke two seconds to look around before -

"Dammit! It's another cave!" He looked at Cloud. "Come here, Blondie!"

Cloud turned to grab his blade when a scream sounded through the tunnel and they all froze as a man in a black cloak fell before them, dead.

"Hey, I saw a bunch of these guys at Nibelheim!" Claire exclaimed, poking him with her foot.

"Then that means we're on the right path." Jeanne took steps forward but the cave began to shake and a large two head beast popped up to attack.

"A Schizo? Really? At this moment?" Claire shook her head.

"You're names are the weirdest things I've ever heard." Renee laughed at the woman beside her.

"I hear that often." It didn't take long for Barret, Red Xlll, Cid, and Claire to take down the creature as everyone else just watched.

"This means we're where we need to be," Jeanne told them.

"Then let's hurry up and get this over with," Zeke walked past her. "I'm tired of waiting. I don't care if he is stronger than me. I'll take him down with me!"

"Sephiroth is mine, Zeke!" Cloud told the man.

"Oh yeah? Just watch."

Everyone watched as the two men raced each other to the end of the tunnel.

Renee shook her head. "I hope he kills them both."

**Lol, aren't Zeke and cloud wonderful together. For saying that they hate each other so much, they get along so well ;) It's perfect! lol**

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	32. Chapter 30

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Chapter Thirty**

**Truth Hurts**

**They had to climb up the side of the cliff just one more time before coming upon the large crater that Jenova had left for them all those years ago. **They stared down at it, amazement in all their eyes as a large vortex of Mako was twirling around in the middle of it. None of them could see what it was, but they were all excited about learning and so they hurried off again, continuing down the rocky path that was set before them.

~That must be how they're planning on calling down Meteor~ Jeanne thought to herself. ~Smart idea~

The entire way there was full of more of the black-cloaked men as they made their own way down the path themselves, but some of them were dying, falling, and just…just dying. Jeanne didn't understand what was going on. She wanted to know who these people were but at the same time, something in her head was telling her that she didn't want to know, but she wasn't going to stop now. Sephiroth and Sienna had to be stopped. They were her parents, but they had to be stopped and she was the one that had to do it. If only…if only Zack and her sister were here with her to do so. With the two of them with her, then maybe it would have been a little easier.

But even with the two of them, it was going to be hard as hell.

At the sounds of blades their heads lifted to see an aircraft fly past them and they didn't have to think very hard about who it was. Rufus. And with him, they were all sure that Jena and the others would be there as well. Were Tseng and Liana okay now since what happened at the Temple of the Ancients? Something told her that she would be figuring that out soon.

"Come on," Claire pushed Cloud forward. "Let's get goin-"

"This is the end…for all of you." Sephiroth's voice made them all stop. His voice was cold and harsh as he stood ahead of him, facing the final cloaked figures; Sienna was nowhere to be seen. His sword cut through the three cloaks, knocking them from the path and down to their deaths.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud growled, taking a step forward.

"This is the end!" Claire told the man as he refused to face them.

"You're right," He refused to look at them. "This is the end of this body's usefulness." Everything then grew dark as Sephiroth's body disappeared.

"Where did he go?" Cloud demanded, trying to look around in the dark.

"He might still be nearby." Tifa told him.

"_Our purpose is to deliver the Black Materia to our Master." _The voice traveled through Cloud and Claire's head.

"Our?" Cloud asked aloud. Everyone looked at him in confusion for a moment.

"Stay alert," Vincent told him. "You never know when Sephiroth or Sienna might appear."

"Yeah, shut up, Cloud." Zeke's grip on his lance was fierce. "Stop being distracting."

"_Those who carry Jenova's cells…_

"Master…!" Claire looked at the others with her.

"_Of course…Sephiroth…and Sienna. Heh, heh, heh…"_

Jeanne saw it coming. The movement from the corner of her eye gave her enough time to move and knock the five others out of the way and parry Sephiroth's sword with her own. He gave her that smirk of his before lowering his blade and walking past her as the others all stood up behind Jeanne.

"Where's Sienna?" Jeanne asked the man before them.

"She's waiting…" He replied.

"Waiting?" Claire asked. "Waiting for what?"

Sephiroth turned, still smiling like he was, and pointed at them. It took a few seconds and they all rolled their eyes as another monster, much like what they fought on the ship, appeared.

"Dammit!" Claire growled. "Jenova Death, we don't have time for this!"

"Don't worry," Myra took a step forward. "I'll handle this one."

"Can you even do anything?" Zeke asked. "I mean, besides whine about snow?"

Tifa slapped Zeke in the back of the head (damn, Gibbs slap, lol) and Myra just smirked, reaching into her pocket. The Yellow Materia was tossed into the air and they all watched as the woman clapped her hands together. A large hammer appeared out of nowhere. She readied herself as the Materia fell down and she hit it, smashing it into pieces. In bright flashes, an elderly man in white with a staff appeared behind them all, resulting in lightening being casted on the enemy, shattering it to pieces.

"Awesome!" Yuffie grinned, watching as the flashing lights dispersed and the Yellow Materia was back in Myra's pocket.

"Jenova's cells…" Cloud mumbled. "So that's what this is all about."

"The Jenova Reunion." Claire replied.

"What the hell are you two talking about?" Zeke asked.

"Not Sephiroth and Sienna?" Tifa cut the man beside her off. "You mean all this time it wasn't the two of them that we've been after?"

"I'll explain later. Right now, the only think I'm thinking about is beating Sephiroth." Cloud told her.

"But Sephiroth and Sienna are…" Tifa looked at Jeanne; she didn't move.

"They're here. The real Sephiroth and Sienna are just beyond here." Cloud continued. "It's both incredibly wicked and cruel…but it's releasing a powerfully strong will from deep within this planet's wound."

Claire noticed something on the ground and stooped over to pick it up. "Hey, look! It's the Black Materia!"

Cloud glanced at it. "Now all we have to do is defeat the two of them and that'll be the end of it."

"You don't understand anything," Jeanne shook her head. Everyone could hear the strain in her voice as she refused to turn and look at them all. "I thought that you would be able to figure it out yourself after all this time, but you just can't, can you?"

"What are you talking about?" Claire asked her.

Jeanne shook her head. "I should have known. I'm just being foolish. This is…" Jeanne's voice faltered as she moved past them all. Cloud watched after her for a second before turning to the others.

"Claire, Jeanne, Tifa, Zeke, and I will be going forward. You others stay here, waiting for something to happen or for us to call you, all right?"

"All right," Yuffie scowled. "But next time I'd better get to go on the mission, got it?"

Cloud gave a small grin at the teen. "All right. I'll remember that."

Claire looked at the Black Materia for a moment before giving it to Barret. "Don't give it to ANYONE, understand?" She asked.

Barret nodded. "You got it."

"Don't worry," Renee grinned. "We'll make sure that he keeps his hands on it."

"All right, we're going in first after Jeanne," Cloud motioned to himself, Claire, Tifa, and Zeke. "You guys stay here and keep watch." He repeated.

"Will do," Cait Sith grinned as Red Xlll gave a nod. "Give us a call when we can join you."

Claire gave back her own nod before hurrying after Jeanne as the other three followed after her. The elder woman had already hurried ahead but the others quickly caught up to her on the small path. "Jeanne!" Claire called up to the woman in white. "Jeanne, wait!"

A flash went off and there was nothing but white. "What is this?" Tifa cried. "What happened?"

"Calm down, Babe," Zeke told her.

"Sephiroth and Sienna are here," Cloud stated. "Anything could happen."

"But-"

"Oh My God," Jeanne's voice was shaky as the entire whiteness faded away and they all stood at the entrance of…

"Nibelheim," Tifa whispered.

"Why?" Zeke wondered. "Are they playing a trick on us?"

"This is an Illusion Sephiroth must have created," Cloud shook his head.

"They're trying to confuse us," Claire agreed. "There's nothing to be afraid of."

"I'm not afraid," Zeke replied, crossing his arms. "Let's just keep going."

"Yeah," Tifa nodded.

Jeanne began to walk away but at the last instant, she whipped back around "No…" Jeanne fell to her knees and placed her hands over her face. "Not again…please!"

They all turned to look with her and Zeke froze; eyes wide. "Zack…?" Tifa stared at the man beside her; his eyes were starting to water at the sight of his cousin but he fought them off.

"What's going on?" Claire asked. This man…why did he seem so familiar to her? And that name…Zack…was this the man she would hear talking in her head? Was this the man that Jeanne was torn up over? He had to be; another, younger, Jeanne was right behind him.

Sephiroth and Sienna, walking in their normal attire, led the way into the entrance. This was exactly how Claire remembered them coming to Nibelheim themselves all these years ago, but she and Cloud were nowhere to be seen. It was Sephiroth, Sienna, and four Infantrymen. Jeanne, with medium brown hair and dressed in her 1st Class outfit was standing next to a man that resembled Zeke; spiky black hair, Cloud's Buster Blade, and a scar on his left cheek.

"So, how does it feel?" Sephiroth asked, glancing over his shoulder. "To be home after all this time? We have no home town. We wouldn't know." He referred to himself and the woman beside him.

Jeanne's hand shot out to grab Zack's shoulder but his question came out anyway. "Uh…what about family?"

~Yep~ Claire nodded, growing more and more confused. ~That's the voice, all right.~

Sephiroth was the one to answer. "My mother's name is Jenova. She died shortly after I was born. My father…" He began to laugh, throwing his head back before placing a hand on his forehead. "Why am I talking about this?" He turned away. "Come on, let's go."

"Who is this?" Claire asked, watching as they all walked further into the village and disappeared. "Where are we?"

"Just…stop it!" Tifa shouted after the Sephiroth form as she knelt down beside Jeanne, wrapping an arm around her shoulder as Zeke stayed silent.

Cloud could put two and two together. "That was Zack, wasn't it Jeanne?" At no answer from any of them, Cloud shook his head. "This is all an illusion. Sephiroth and Sienna are trying to trick us." Another flash happened and Cloud closed his eyes. "What's next?" He asked.

"Stop it already!" Tifa shouted again.

"All this happened…while I was sleeping…?" They all turned to see someone standing behind them.

"Vincent!" Claire sounded relieved as they all stared at the man in red as Nibelheim burned around them. "What are you doing here? Why did you follow?"

"I," He glanced around the burning building as he moved closer to them all. "What happened here?"

"This is what happened seven years ago," Jeanne was standing again, starring around the town as the fire was warm upon their skin.

"But," Cloud looked away from Vincent and shook his head. "It's probably not Claire and me that's going to come out of the Inn. They're just trying to show us another illusion." Zack came running out and stooped over two of the Infantrymen that were lying on the ground. "See…didn't I tell you?" They all then watched as Jeanne came running out after him moments later. "Sephiroth! Sienna! I know that you're listening! I know what you want to say! That Claire and I weren't in Nibelheim seven years ago. That's it, isn't it?"

"I see you finally understand." They turned to see Sephiroth behind them.

"You're just trying to confuse us, right?" Claire balled her fists. "Well, it's not going to work. I remember all of it!"

"Oh really?" They glanced behind to see Sienna sitting on one of the un-burning fence posts. "The two of you are just puppets…you no longer have any hearts and you cannot feel any pain. How can you remember anything?"

"What I have shown you is reality," Sephiroth told them. "What you remember is the illusion. Do you understand? You were never Jeanne's partner. You were never even a SOLDIER."

"I'm not going to listen to you," Cloud shook his head. "All you're trying to do is trick me. But, I want to ask you one thing. Why…why are you doing this?"

Sephiroth began to laugh as he disappeared and reappeared to stand beside Sienna. "We want to take the two of you back to your real selves. Back to who gave me that Black Materia that day…Who would have ever thought that two failed experiments would prove to be so useful? Hojo would die if he knew," Sienna gave a 'Pah' at the name.

"Hojo?" Claire sounded surprised. "What does he have to do with us?"

"Seven years ago you were…"

Sephiroth stopped as Sienna stood up and walked towards them. She stood over Jeanne with a smile. "Why not ask Jeanne? She knows." Jeanne took steps back, leaving them all there and disappearing around the corner that her other self and Zack and disappeared at. Sienna smirked.

"You were constructed by Hojo, piece by piece," Sephiroth continued. "Right after Nibelheim was burnt. Puppets made up of vibrant Jenova cells, her knowledge, and the power of the Mako. Incomplete Sephiroth and Sienna clones. The two of you weren't even given a number. That is your reality."

"Cloud, don't listen to him," Tifa urged. "Close your ears. Close your eyes!"

"I'm not affected by it," Cloud replied. "All he's doing is lying."

"That's right. Remember all our childhood memories?" Tifa asked. Zeke stayed silent though, watching as Claire wrapped her arms around herself, his eyes clouded over as she thought intensely to herself. Vincent stayed beside her, ready to grab her incase Sephiroth and Sienna decided to attack.

Sienna and Sephiroth laughed. "Tifa, why are you so worried and scared by those words? Shall I show everyone here what's in your heart?" Tifa turned around, refusing to face them and the man gave another laugh. "You look like you're not feeling well." They disappeared again.

"No," Cloud shook his head. "He's not right. Sephiroth is just trying to trick us. There's a lot of things that Claire and I don't understand, a bunch of things muddled up, but they're just using that to try and get us to turn. It'll never work! I know who I am and nothing will change that. That's why you shouldn't be so scared, Tifa."

"Cloud, don't blame Tifa," Sephiroth's voice came from the town stars where Jeanne disappeared. "The ability to change one's looks, voice, and words, is the power of Jenova. Inside of you, Jenova has merged with Tifa's memories, creating you and Claire. Out of Tifa's memories…Twins named Cloud and Claire might've just been a part of them." He disappeared again.

"Cloud…Please," Tifa shook her head. "Just don't think right now."

Sienna was behind them again, laughing. "Think, Cloud! Your sister is! Oh wait…excuse me. You never had a name…"

"Shut up, Sienna." Cloud told the smiling woman in black.

"Jeanne was right," Sienna shook her head. "You still don't understand. I thought you'd be smarter than this since you had Jenova's cells in you but I guess not."

Sephiroth appeared beside her again. "Do you remember the picture that we took before we headed for Mt. Nibel? I'm sure that Tifa and Jeanne do. But there's no way Cloud or Claire should know. Now…what happened to that picture?" Sienna grinned and whipped it out of nowhere and held it out to the man beside her. "Ah, here it is." He turned back to Cloud. "Do you want to see it? It turned out pretty good."

"Cloud…" Claire had looked up and was staring at her brother, a look of realization faded on her face. "I don't think…"

"We should be in the picture," Cloud nodded. "Even if we're not in there, no worry. This is just an illusory world they made up, Claire." He took a step forward to see that he and Claire weren't there. It was just Jeanne, Tifa, Sienna, Sephiroth, and Zack.

Tifa was waving. Zack had crossed his arms to look cool. Jeanne was giving a peace sign. Sephiroth and Sienna just stood there, looking cool as always.

"Just as I thought," Cloud shook his head. "This picture's a fake. The truth is in our memory. Seven years ago, we came back to inspect Nibelheim, to inspect the reactor. We were sixteen. The town hadn't changed at all. We spent the night at the Inn and went to the reactor at Mt. Nibel. I was excited about it because that was my first mission after becoming 1st Class in SOLDIER. I…"

_**~He's pulling his weapon to his side  
>Loading it full of his goodbyes<br>Holding an enemy across the line  
>He's pulling his weapon to his side<br>Loading it full of his goodbyes  
>Holding an enemy across the line~<strong>_

**When the aircraft landed, Jena was the first one to get off of it. **The crater was full of rocks and ice; Sienna and Sephiroth HAD to be here. The Ice gave them away practically instantly. But there was something different about this ice. It felt…gave off a feeling of Materia than anything else. As Jena took a closer look at it as the sun seeped down through the strange branches above them, three large shapes inside the ice became more noticeable.

"They're…they're creatures…" She slowly said to herself. Three large forms, dragon like, stood there before her. She could only see their heads but from the size of them, she knew they had to be large.

Scarlet's obnoxious laughter broke the silence and Jena glared at her over her shoulder. "Wow! That's amazing!" The woman in red ran past Jena to take a better look at the creatures inside the Ice. "It's all Materia! Sienna must have had something to do with this! Her ice is all over the place!"

"The outside is rich with Mako energy. The inside is a treasure trove of Materia. This truly is the Promised Land." Rufus mumbled as they all continued to stare around them.

"There is no such thing as the Promised Land." Hojo decided to be heard as he paused beside the President. It's a legend…an old wives tale…it's utterly ridiculous."

Rufus ignored the Professor and took a few steps forward to place himself beside Jena. "Everything's as I imagined it to be. Isn't it splendid?" Hojo gave a sour laugh and Rufus glared at him. "It's that kind of dullness that makes you a second-rate scientist." At that moment, the ground all around them began to shake and Rufus' hands grabbed Jena's waist to stabilize her. "What's happening?"

"It's coming from within the wall! Something's in there! It's moving!" Scarlet screamed.

"Yeah, could you not see them before they started moving?" Jena growled, clinching her fist. Damn, that woman annoyed her beyond no ends. As they continued to watch, an eye opened on the closest head and closed again.

"Weapon…" Hojo muttered. "Then it really does exist…I didn't believe in it."

"What does this mean?" Rufus demanded, removing his hands from the woman's waist.

"…Weapon. Monsters created by the Planet. They appear when the Planet is in danger, reducing everything to nothingness. That's what was stated in Professor Gast's report."

"I never saw that report…where is it?" Rufus demanded.

Hojo shook his head. "Nobody knows. I tried to look for it but it seems to have disappeared."

"That's because Sienna had it," They all turned to the side to see Jeanne standing there, her hand against part of the ice to stabilize herself as the ground continued to shake. "And now I do."

"Jeanne," Jena's voice held a sound of relief as her lips curled up into a small smile.

"What!" Hojo sounded appalled. "You have the reports? What else did Sienna give to you? Give them here!"

Jeanne had given her sister a return grin but that turned to a look of hate as she looked at Hojo. "You're the cause of all this. What makes you think that I'd give you anything?" She took a step towards the man in the lab coat and he backed up. "You started all of this. Sienna and Sephiroth changing into this…Zack's death…all if this is because of you!" She had backed Hojo up against the ice. "The only thing I should give you-"

"Jeanne," Rufus cut her off, taking a step towards her. "When did Sienna give them to you? How long have you had them? Where are they?"

The woman glanced at him. "I've had them since Nibelheim. I've had them all. The reports of all you," She glared at all of them. "Did to them, to Zack. To the Twins. To me!" She shook her head and glared back at Hojo. "And now I know all about Vincent Valentine…and Lucrecia. ShinRa isn't to blame. It's the people inside of it, and here's the start of it all." She grabbed the front of his jacket and Hojo's face turned to a look of sheer terror. "I should just kill you right now, but you're not even worth it." She let him go and backed away. "Zack would just laugh at me if I did. Your time will come, Hojo, and when it does, you'll pay for all that you've done. I just hope that I'm there to see it."

Hojo gave a look of relief and that just ticked Jeanne off even more, so she turned around and punched him in the stomach with a short, strong jab. Hojo wrapped his arms around himself as he fell to his knees. Just watching him go down made Jeanne's back take its own actions without her thinking, resulting in her foot delivering some kicks. She said she wasn't going to kill him, but hurting him was a whole different story.

Jena moved, but only after watching a few kicks. They seemed rightly placed. Hell, if a CERTAIN SOMEONE wasn't in ShinRa then Jena would have left a long time ago.(Hint hint, the final chapter to Crisis Core, lol) She grabbed her sister's arms and pulled her back from Hojo; Jeanne didn't fight.

"Mr. President," Scarlet backed up from the ice. "I've got a bad feeling about this place…"

"Hmm," It seemed that Rufus agreed with that. "Maybe we should go back to our ship now. We need to prepare for the inspection anyway."

Jeanne gave Hojo's foot another kick before glaring at the man behind her and her sister. "You can go, but I'm staying here. I'm not leaving without the others."

"But Jeanne," Jena began but she soon fell silent as a few more people joined them out of nowhere; Cloud, Claire, Tifa, Zeke, and Vincent.

Vincent went to move towards Claire but his eyes landed on the man in the lab coat. "Hojo," He growled.

Zeke raised an eyebrow, taking in the man himself. "Oh? So this is the mad doctor, is it?"

"Hey! Where did you come from?" Scarlet demanded. The sisters shared an annoyed look.

"…Don't…"

"…Know…"

Jeanne looked at the twins in confusion for a second. Both of them looked weird. The looks on their faces and the tone of their voices; the way they were holding themselves…what was going on? What did she miss?

"This place is going to get rough," Cloud announced, staring at Rufus.

"Better leave things to us and get out of here while you still can." Claire told the man.

"Leave things to you?" Rufus smirked and jerked a hand through his hair, trying to play the cool character now that others had joined them. (After all, a good son would have known, XXDD)(Now, if you can't name that, I'm gonna murder you lol). "Hmph…I don't know what you mean."

"This is where the Reunion is happening. Where everything begins and ends." Cloud continued. It looked like Tifa wanted to move and say something but she couldn't as Barret ran up behind them instead.

"Hey! We're here to help you!" the man cried and then spotted the ShinRa. He began to grind his teeth. "Looks like I came in the right time!"

Cloud moved forward; it looked like he was struggling for some reason though. "Thanks…Barret. Where's the Black Materia?"

"It's safe. I have it."

"I'll take it from here," Cloud told him, holding his head out. "Give me the…Black Materia."

"You alright?" Barret asked, cautious about grabbing the Materia.

"Never better." Claire replied with a smile but Jeanne still frowned.

"Barret, wa-" but the man handed it to Cloud.

"Thanks," Cloud nodded. "Leave the rest to us."

It was seconds later that cloud and Claire both curled up into a ball and then were sucked up to the roots above them, towards the center of it. Hojo began to make cheers of how his experiments on making Sephiroth and Sienna clones worked but Jeanne and Jena both put a stop to that immediately with a foot in his face apiece.

"What's going on?" Rufus demanded.

Hojo pushed himself up, pulling his glasses back on. "They're clones that I created after the real Sephiroth and Sienna died seven years ago. Jenova cells and Mako, with my knowledge and Skills, have been combined with science and nature to bring them to life…I'm not wild about the failure part, but the Jenova Reunion Theory has now been proven. You see, even if Jenova's body is dismembered, it will eventually become one again. That's what is meant by Jenova's Reunion. I have been waiting for the Reunion to start. Seven years have passed since they escaped and now the Clones have begun to return. I thought that the clones would begin to gather inn Midgar where Jenova is…was stored. But I was not correct. Jenova itself began to move away from the ShinRa Building. But being the genius that I am, I soon figured it out. You see it was all Sephiroth and Sienna's doing. They are not just content to diffuse themselves into the Lifestream; they want to manipulate the Clones themselves. I had always wondered where the clones were going but I was never able to figure it out." Hojo shook his head. "The one thing that I did know was that Sephiroth was at their final destination."

"So," Jeanne's voice was strained. "You did all of this to me and Zack too, right? Tried to make us another set of clones? Why aren't I being controlled by Sienna like Claire is?"

"It seems that, even after Sienna's death, she still wanted her star pupil to be safe. She seemed to have put some kind of barrier up around you during my tests. I thought that I had gotten through all of them, but it appears that the woman's powers are still strong, even after death."

"They're not dead, you idiot!" Jeanne growled, pulling her arms away from her sister. "Don't you get it? Sephiroth is just hurt from Nibelheim! They both are! They've been in hiding for seven years, not dead."

Jena nodded her head. "I thought that you were supposed to be smart," she commented.

"It apparently didn't work," Zeke commented with a shrug.

The branches above them moved out of the way and a large, crystal-like structure lowered a bit to give everyone a look at it. Jeanne's mouth fell open as they all gazed upon the two figures inside of it. The first everyone could see was a shirtless man with long silver hair and…no legs. Sephiroth, without a doubt. But his legs were gone. Something had to have happened after he and Sienna had fallen down into the bottom of the Reactor. A pair of arms was wrapped around his chest, leading up to the head that was resting on his shoulders. Sienna of course. Her eyes weren't closed though. They were open and staring at Cloud and Claire with a pleased look on her face. Jeanne watched as her lips moved and she could have sworn that Sephiroth's lip moved, but maybe not.

"Do you see them? They really are here!" Hojo grinned and gave a laugh. "My calculations were true! We always thought that Sienna took him somewhere safe to restore him! But to think…she encased herself with him! Such foolishness! But then again, such power!" Hojo took his glasses off and wiped his tears away. "This is perfect! Both Jenova's Reunion and THEIR will! They won't be defused into the Lifestream, but gathered here!"

"Didn't you just say they were dead though?" Jena asked aloud.

Zeke didn't like the thought of standing there and letting the mad doctor talk so he took matters into his own hands like the sisters had and gave him another foot to the face.

(Damn, he's just getting his ass beat today, isn't he? Poor Hojo…NOT! MWA-HA-HA-HA!)

"You know what this means, don't you?" Tifa demanded.

"Cloud has the Black Materia," Vincent was staring above them still at the two figures in ice. ~So, this is Lucretia's child, hmm?~

"They're going to summon Meteor," Jeanne straightened to her full height.

"They're actually going to try and kill everyone?" Zeke shook his head. "What are they? Stupid?"

"Well," Jena's glare turned to Hojo. "Considering all that's happened to them, I'm sure that I'd be crazy as well."

"Whatever I say now is too little, too late," Rufus commented. "Jena, it's time to evacuate." He looked at Jeanne. "I want you and your companions to come with me as well. There's still much that I want to hear from these books of yours."

"I'm not going to leave Cloud and Claire here!" Jeanne told him.

"It's either you do, or you die with them." Rufus replied with a shrug.

"It's my fault that they were even brought here in the first place! I can't-"

Jeanne fell forward and Vincent moved to catch her. Jena shook her head as she dropped her hands. "Let's hurry up and go." She gave Vincent a look and they exchanged a nod before he picked her up and followed them all towards the aircraft that was to be their means of escape.

As soon as the aircraft of full(the others had all followed after Barret) and in the air, they all turned to watch as the Ice began to break and fall apart. Tifa searched for Cloud and Claire but she couldn't see anything from so up high besides the falling ice and the three, large creature that were beginning to climb up out of it. Everyone wore looks of surprise and the entire area, even in the air, seemed to shiver and shake as the large black dragon, Ultima, took off in the air. Omega, another of the black creatures, took off in a different direction and Ruby, the large red one(duh) did the same.

Once the rocket stopped quivering, Jena turned to Vincent as he still held Jeanne. "We can place her in room below. There's a couch for her to lie on."

Vincent nodded his head and moved to follow her but he paused for a second to look over the railing again; looking for Claire, no doubt.

"So," Hojo was still smiling like a lunatic. "Sienna is the one that raised Omega, Ultima, and Ruby, is she? And to think…It was Gast that created her, not me. Too bad."

"You're just so stupid, aren't you?" Zeke glared the man in the lab coat down. "You don't get anything and you don't care. Just," He shoved the man away from him. "Just get away from me before I throw you over the side."

Jena couldn't help but give a little smile. Jeanne had told her everything.

Zack's cousin was definitely just like him.

**And there, my friends, is that long Chapter that you've been waiting on. **

**What did you guys think about Sienna still being awake and raising Omega and the others? I thought that that was a nice touch myself ;)**

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	33. Chapter 31

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Chapter Thirty-One**

**Escape**

"**Come with me."**

Jeanne turned to face her sister. She had been gazing out the window as Meteor as it was slowly coming closer and closer to the planet. Their time was running short.

Jeanne had been locked in Junon Prison for the last even days. She had tried to help the others escape and most of them did, but Tifa and Barret had been left behind with her. Where they were now though, she didn't know.

"Why?" she asked her sister.

"Myra and Zeke are here," Jena answered her.

Jeanne was silent for a moment. "You know, this is called treason if you're caught."

Jena gave a small smile. "If I'm caught," Jeanne gazed out the window again at the sounds of gunfire and watched as Omega decided to pop up out of the water. It took only a few moments before the creature decided to return the attack, slicing a hole in the machine. The cannon returned fire again, hitting the beast in the face, and the creature fell into the water. It was apparent that the Weapon was destroyed. One down, two to go.

"Let's just go." Jeanne replied to her. "The sooner I get out of here the better. And the faster you're not in trouble anymore."

Jena nodded and led her sister out of the prison, heading up the stairs towards the Aircraft that she knew was waiting. Zeke and Myra were nearby, clearing a path and causing trouble. But it seemed that they were no longer needed due to Weapon. Jena knew exactly where to go. No one was around so there was no need to be worried about being spotted. It didn't take long for them to find Zeke and Myra waiting by the outside door for them.

"There she is," Myra gave a sigh of relief. "I was just about to get worried about you."

Jeanne looked at the woman for just a moment before deciding to ask – "Why are you still here?"

"Huh?" all three of them looked at Jeanne in surprise.

"I don't mean it in any mean way," She assured them. "But why haven't you returned to your dig site?"

Myra thought for a second before replying with a smile – "Kite knows what to do and though I would love to just return, I'm afraid that saving the world has become a bigger problem in my life then digging up old bones. If you will have me, I would gladly like to continue coming with you."

Jeanne nodded and glanced at Zeke. "Will you be able to work with your boss?"

Zeke gave a scoff as he crossed his arms. "That's a dumb question." Myra smacked him in the back of the head and he rubbed it, giving them both a look. "Dammit! Now I have to worry about both of you! And Tifa!"

Jena gave a giggle before turning to her sister. "Be careful out there, Jeanne. I don't want to hear of something bad happening to you."

Jeanne locked eyes with Jena. "You wouldn't have to worry about that if you came with me."

Jena sighed. She had thought about it. To be honest, she wanted to but…

"Good job, Jena," The voice made them all turn to see three certain Turks standing behind them. "Trying to keep Jeanne from escaping, right?" Reno asked. Reno and Rude wore blank faces but Liana wore a frown as she watched them.

"What are the three of you doing here?" Jena asked, her steel glare resting on them.

"Jeanne's cell alarm went off and it didn't take long for us to figure out where she would be," Liana answered, glaring at the younger Rush sister.

"You were capturing her again, right Jena?" Reno asked again.

"I knew it," Myra shook her head. "Can't ever trust a Turk. Even if you knew them growing up."

Zeke rolled his eyes. "What the hell are you talking about?" He asked her.

She ignored him. "Reno, Reno, Reno, not bad. One of the best, I hear."

The redhead raised an eyebrow at her. "What are you talking about? How do you know me?"

"Myra, shut up," Zeke looked at Jeanne. Reno raised his eyebrow at the name. "Let's just get out of here."

Jeanne looked between Myra and Reno before something dawned on her. She smirked. "I see," she slowly shook her head before turning back to her sister. "Think about it, Jena. If you ever change your mind, just let me know. Zeke, Myra, let's go."

None of the Turks moved as Jeanne and the others moved towards the aircraft as Barret, Yuffie, and Cait Sith ran up from another direction. Liana watched after them for a moment before turning. She grabbed Reno by the folds of his jacket before slamming him up against the wall.

"You saw Jena trying to re-capture Jeanne, right? Then the other two popped out of nowhere before we could help, right?" She asked him.

Reno gave her a look and Jena one before sighing. "Yeah, that's what I saw."

Liana then looked at Rude. He stayed silent and gave her a nod before he turned to leave. She let Reno go and the redhead followed after his partner. Liana sighed before turning with Jena to watch the ship fly off. "They're not bad," She slowly admitted. "Now that I think about it, if I wasn't already a Turk, I might be asking to join them. If Rude wasn't here…I'd probably join them."

Jena turned her head to watch Liana walk away before back to the ship to finish watching it move away.

_**~In my head, I see you all over me.**_

_**In my head, you fulfill my fantasy.**_

_**You'll be screaming out.**_

_**In my head, it's going down.**_

_**In my head, it's going down.**_

_**In my head. Yeah. In my head. Oh yeah~**_In my head, I see you all over me.  
>In my head, you fulfill my fantasy.<br>You'll be screaming out.  
>In my head, it's going down.<br>In my head, it's going down.  
>In my head. Yeah. In my head. Oh yeah<p>

"**What now?"** Renee asked as she held her niece. Yuffie was never good and safe in the air.

"What do you think?" Zeke asked as he tied a rope to the railing of the ship and prepared to jump over it. "We're getting Tifa." Jeanne watched as Tifa and Scarlett held a slapping contest on the very tip of the cannon and smirked before walking down below deck, Myra following her. "Hey Tifa!" Zeke yelled.

The woman turned to see Zeke hanging from the ship on the rope and grinned. Turning back to Scarlett, she punched her in the face before turning and running to the man on the rope and grabbing his hand before the ship took off into the air. It didn't take to long for them both to climb up the rope and place their feet safely on the ship.

"Are you okay?" Barret asked immediately.

"My cheeks hurt a bit," She replied. "But I LOVED hitting her back."

"And I LOVED watching it." Zeke chuckled.

"What's this all about?" Tifa asked, gazing around them.

"This is the Highwind," Zeke grinned. "Cid decided to name it when he took it. Come inside. I'm sure you're hungry and would like some answers."

"Everyone is here?" Tifa sounded surprised.

"Of course!" Barret smiled and then took off running.

Tifa nodded and then followed Zeke inside and into the front of the ship.

Barret was staring out the window. Myra and Jeanne were talking towards the back of the area with Vincent and Red Xlll close by them. Cait Sith was behind some set of controls and Tifa had seen Renee outside with her niece as the younger was air-sick. That left Cid grinning like a crazy man as he ran at Tifa and Zeke to introduce her to his new ship.

"Welcome to my airship – the Highwind. Named after me, of course!" The elder blond was chuckling. Tifa took a look around the ship in silence. Cid frowned. "What's wrong! You should be more excited than that!"

Red Xlll looked at the pilot. "Cid…" He shook his head.

The man got what the dog was trying to say before scratching the back of his head. "Yeah…"

"Not enough crew," Tifa sighed. She could just see a certain pair of blonds standing at the front windows, laughing and talking as they stared down at the land beneath them.

"Come on," Barret put and arm around Tifa's shoulders. "What's the sad face for?"

"That's a dumb question," Zeke crossed his arms and Barret gave him a scowl.

"Do you think we aren't strong enough without Cloud and Claire?" Red Xlll decided to asked. "I know that with Jeanne we're strong but the three of them were what truly made us strong. With two of three gone…Do you think we can't save the Planet without the three of them together?"

"Meteor is coming, and Weapon is on the Rampage…" Tifa replied. "At a time like this, I don't know what I'm supposed to do…no idea at all…"

"Get ahold of yourself Tifa!" Barret told her. "C'mon, let's think about this! No way we can get offa this train we're on!"

"I agree," Zeke told her. "We don't need Cloud and Claire to do this but I'm sure that if the two of them are still alive they'll be back with us soon. We need to keep on with the mission so let's just do that for now."

"But," Myra took a step forward. "Where do we go now?" Things were silent for a moment.

"Jeanne," Everyone turned to see that Renee had entered and the woman in white turned at her name. "What do you think we should do next?"

Everyone turned to look at the ex-SOLDIER. She turned back to look at the wall of the Airship again for a moment in silence. They were still going to choose her as leader, eh? Was that the right thing to do? Especially after everything that had just happened?

"_Mideel," _Zack's voice traveled through her head. _"Go to Mideel."_

Jeanne gave a sigh and turned to Cid. "Mideel," Jeanne replied. "Make a course for Mideel." She glanced back towards the wall. ~This better be right, Zack~

**A little short yes, but there are a few in here. What are they called? Fillers? lol**

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	34. A little message for Whisper

**AHEM,**

**Earlier today I had someone that decided to leave a review for me and was too chicken to leave me a way to respond. She decided to call me an idiot because I 'didn't get the facts right' about the weapons in my opening chapter.**

**Here is my reply, Whisper ()**

**Aerith's Weapon, in the small handbook that came with the original Final Fantasy 7 Playstation game was called a 'Rod', not given the name staff of Princess Guard(Princess Guard is her strongest one and she gets it in the game but I never said anything about that. The only name that I have given to weapons is Sephiroth's, Genesis', and Cloud's.**

**Again, in the hand book, Yuffie's weapon was called a Boomerang, not a shuriken.**

**And for the final one, I know that Sephiroth's sword is called the Masamune. If you don't believe that, maybe your dumb-ass should read my Crisis Core and FF7 stories to see that I call it that all the time. As said above, I used the HANDBOOK WITH THE ORIGINAL FF7 GAME to make the opening and it only held the 'LONG SWORD' name on it so that's what I used. I did nothing wrong so your reply was pointless. The name of Sephiroth's sword was not created until later on during the FF7 Series so therefore, it was listed as Long Sword.**

**Don't believe me, then buy it yourself and look, idiot.**

**To all my other fans, thank you so much for your reviews. I appreciate them and I hope to see you guys again soon! :)**


	35. Chapter 32

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Chapter Thirty-Two**

**Mideel**

**It didn't take too long before they found what they were looking for. **Cid, Tifa, Vincent, and Jeanne were the only ones to get off the aircraft when they reached Mideel. It was still early in the morning; the sun had barely risen, so the others were just left to sleep. The townspeople were in a riot about the Meteor coming closer and closer and so the stores were all basically gone. There were a few things that they could buy, but not enough. But they didn't complain. They were there to find some news of the twins and it seemed that someone was looking out for them. When Tifa had knelt down to play with a lost puppy, there were a few people nearby talking about a pair of blonds that washed up on shore about a week ago. The next thing they all knew, they found themselves inside the small clinic in the village.

Cloud was in a wheelchair at the foot of the bed that Claire laid in. Claire's eyes were closed but Cloud's were opened as Tifa knelt at his feet, trying to talk to him. Jeanne was speechless as she watched the twins in this state, again. This was just like the way they were after Hojo's experiments all those years ago.

"Cloud! Claire! What happened to you!" Tifa demanded as they all stood around them.

"It's…It's Mako poisoning," Jeanne sat on the bed across from Claire, staring at her as Vincent moved up beside her in silence.

"What?" Cid asked in surprise.

"She's right," The doctor nodded. "They're both in quite advanced cases. Both have been exposed to a high level of Mako energy for a protracted period of time."

"The Crater," Vincent looked at Jeanne and she nodded. He sighed and turned back to Claire.

"Neither of them probably have an idea who or where he is now." The Doctor continued. "Their voices don't work either. They're literally miles away from us. Some place far away where no one's ever been…all alone…"

"You sure do know how to cheer somebody up, don't you?" Cid growled, crossing his arms. The doctor flushed.

"I doubt that," Jeanne commented from the bed. "They might be far away, but they're not alone. They would be together. Their bond is much stronger than those of normal twins." She gave a sad smile. "They wouldn't leave the other alone, no matter what."

"Ahem! Let us excuse ourselves," The doctor told his nurse. They both left and then Cid followed them. Vincent took a step towards Claire and reached out to her head before he stopped himself and turned to march out without a word. Jeanne and Tifa stayed in the room, staring at the twins.

"What do you want us to do?" Tifa sobbed, resting her head on Cloud's knees. "Tell me. Please! Talk to me! Tell us that you can see us, hear us…anything, please."

"They can't," Jeanne whispered, standing up and over Claire. "This…this is so much worse than last time."

Tifa shivered. "I came this far believing in the memories we have together. This can't be happening! This is too cruel. Why? Why does this have to happen to you? Why is it always the two of you?"

"Because it has to," Jeanne closed her eyes. ~Because God has decided to make me miserable for everything that's happened. For what I couldn't stop."

"You," Tifa stood up, glaring at Jeanne. "This IS all your fault!" Jeanne looked at her from the corner of her eye before Tifa moved forward and slammed her against the wall. "If only you had told them! They knew you were hiding something! The moment Sephiroth told them they were just puppets was the end! You should have told them the truth! So long ago! This is all your fault! Your fault!"

Jeanne closed her eyes. "I wasn't the only one that knew, Tifa. You could have told them as well. You were just as scared as I was." Tifa broke down them and began to cry, burying her face into Jeanne's shoulder. The ex-SOLDIER gripped the woman before her, rubbing her back in comfort as guilt burned in her stomach.

_**~I'm never gonna dance again**_

_**These guilty feet have got no rhythm**_

_**Though it's easy to pretend**_

_**I know you're not a fool.~**_

"**Listen Doc,"** Cid began. "Why don't you tell us the truth. Are they going to be all right?"

"I'll say it again. Their cases are severely bad. An immense amount of Mako-drenched knowledge was put into his brain all at once. No normal human could have survived it…It's a miracle that they both did."

"No wonder. After all they fell into the Lifestream and were carried down here. But remember," Cid continued. "The light of hope can be found anywhere."

Vincent turned his head to the man next to him. "Has Renee really gotten that far into your head?"

Cid blushed. "Sh-shut up, you! Besides, if you give up hope…" He sighed. "What will happen to them?" Before the Doctor could continue, Tifa opened the door and walked out. Vincent waited for Jeanne to join them but she didn't. "Are you okay?" Cid asked her.

"Yes," She nodded. "I'm sorry I had you all worried."

"Where's Jeanne?" Vincent asked.

Tifa lowered her head. "She's not coming with us."

"What?" Cid asked.

Tifa nodded. "Jeanne's decided that she's going to stay here with Cloud and Claire until they 'wake back up'."

"But that could take forever!" Cid replied.

"Without Cloud and Claire," Vincent added. "Jeanne's the only one that has inside information on ShinRa because of her sister."

"Not true," Tifa shook her head. "Believe me, I tried to point that out to her but she gladly decided to remind me that Cait Sith is on the inside as well." Both me thought for a second about the robot Cat and then nodded.

"I guess so," Cid rubbed his chin. "But so, how can she just leave us like this? And right in the middle of everything?"

"She's been through this once before with Cloud and Claire," Tifa told them. "It was after the experiments that Hojo had put them through. They couldn't move or talk for days, weeks…a long time. She never left their side. Not for too long, anyway. She feels that she should do the same here."

"Wait," Cid raised an eyebrow. "If she knew about the experiments, how come she didn't stop them?"

"She really couldn't, seeming as how they were being placed on her at the same time. When she and Zack woke up the two of them broke out and took the twins with them. This was about two years after the incident at Nibelheim."

"If she had the experiments placed on her then why didn't she go through what Cloud and Claire had to?" Vincent asked.

"I can't answer that," Tifa shook her head. "Neither can she and with our luck lately, I doubt anyone but Hojo could answer that and with him, I REALLY doubt that anyone just wants to ask him questions." Vincent nodded, understanding that since he was one of those ones. "She said to…to just go. She would stay with the twins just like last time. She wants to take them with her like she had before but," She glanced at the doctor. "She felt that the doctor wouldn't let her and she didn't want to hurt them in the process."

"So, what now?" Cid asked.

"Now, we just leave," Tifa turned to the Doctor and gave a short bow. "Please, take care of them. We'll be back to visit them soon."

"Will do, my dear," The Doctor grinned before he and the Nurse entered the clinic again.

"Let's go," Tifa told the two men with her. They all gave the clinic another look before they headed back to the Highwind.

_**~I should have known better than to cheat a friend**_

_**And waste the chance that I've been given**_

_**So I'm never gonna dance again**_

_**The way I danced with you~**_

"**WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT SHE STAYED BEHIND WITH THE TWO BRATS!" **Zeke's voice shook the ship as he glared at Tifa. "How can she do that? I would have dragged all three of them on this damn ship! She and Zack took those two blonds all over the damn place with them last time! Why not do the same thing now?"

"Would you shut up?" Jeanne's voice made them all jump as the woman and Renee walked into the front of the ship. "Damn, did you really think that I was just gonna leave them there and stay with them? I'm not gonna stand by and let all of you do my job."

"What are you doing, Jeanne?" Tifa took a step towards the woman. "What about Cloud and Claire?"

"I got them set up in their rooms," Jeanne told her, shoving a thumb over her shoulder. "I needed you to distract the Doctor while Renee and I got them outside."

Zeke frowned at the ex-SOLDIER. "You're a tricky little thing," He told her, pausing for a moment. "I can see why Zack liked you so much."

Tifa bit her lip, worried that Jeanne would get angry at Zack being brought back up but instead, the woman gave a smile. "I try," She replied.

"It's good and all that the twins are with us, whether or not that they're sick but, what're we gonna do now!" Barret demanded. "What can WE do?" He then sighed. "Ain't there nothin' we can do? An' don' go tellin' us to wait for the twins to get better." He told Tifa.

Cait Sith decided to be heard. "Oh, I've got some news."

"Yeah, what! That you a spy?" Barret scowled.

"Yeah…I've already told you that I was." He looked at them all. "Both 'Gya ha ha' and 'Kya ha ha' are up to something."

"Who the hell is that?" Zeke asked Tifa as she frowned.

"ShinRa idiots," Tifa answered him.

"Scarlet and Heidegger." Jeanne told him with a nod at Tifa's reply.

"Wanna eavesdrop?" The cat asked.

"Of course." Zeke grinned.

_**~All I have is you**_

_**All I need is you**_

_**I am losing you forever**_

_**You're all that I'm waiting for~**_

**Jena stood by the door with Reeve Tuesti, silent as she listened to the meeting.** Rufus and she had been talking about what had happened with the attack by the Omega and she had gone to leave but he told her to stay. Rufus was pacing as he and the three others in the room talked.

"Now then," Rufus began. "We're faced with two issues. 1. Destroy Meteor. 2. Remove the barrier around North Cave and defeat Sephiroth. Any ideas?"

Heidegger let out his stupid laugh, making Jena pull a face. "Gya ha ha ha! We already solved the first problem! Meteor will soon be smashed to bits! The plan has already been put in motion. Namely, to collect Huge Materia from each region."

"Well," Rufus crossed his arms, waiting for the rest of his answer.

"Huge Materia," Scarlet walked towards the table. "Is a high density special type of Materia made through a special compression process in Mako Reactors. The energy extracted from it is 330 times the strength of normal Materia. Ha ha ha! How about that! We will gather all the huge Materia together and ram it into Meteor. That will cause a huge explosion! Reducing Meteor literally to bits."

"You're going to ram Meteor?" Rufus asked. "Do you think we have the technology to do it?"

"Don't worry about that!" Scarlet told him. "More importantly, we've got to collect Huge Materia from each area."

"We've already collected Materia from Nibelheim." Heidegger grinned. "All that's left is Corel and Fort Condor. I've already dispatched troops to Corel." He let out another laugh.

"You know," Jena couldn't help but step forward to add her little tidbit. "That's actually not a bad idea to destroy the Meteor. That might actually work." They all seemed to be surprised that Jena actually agreed with them this time. "With asking them to supply the Materia, we-"

"Asking?" Scarlet gave that annoying laugh of hers. "Why should we ask? We don't need to. We can do what we want with what we want. (Damn, look at all those 'w's' in one sentence XD)

"And that, my friend," She turned to Reeve. "Is why people hate ShinRa." She looked back to Rufus as Reeve chuckled and Scarlet pulled a face and tried to reply. "When you need to see me again, call me. I'm afraid I'll catch 'stupid' if I stay here any longer."

_**~I waited for you**_

_**I waited so long**_

_**I'm not coming home~**_

**~Jena does enjoy pissing Scarlet off a lot.~** Jeanne scratched the back of her head as she chuckled.

"Corel!" Barret cried for his old home town. "What else can they do to Corel!"

"And the Huge Materia…" Red Xlll pondered for a moment. "You mean the Huge Materia, don't you? I've heard about it. When our small Materia nears the larger one, something should happen. I'm certain of it. That's why we're using the power of Materia in our fight."

"Can't let ShinRa get ahold of the huge Materia!" Barret growled. "Besides, when the twins get back, I wanna shoe them this Huge Materia. They're gonna be shocked."

"So, what are you saying Garret?" Cait Sith asked the large man. "Even though you're always teasing them, you really want them to hurry up and get better, right?"

Barret crossed his arms and turned his nose. "I ain't saying nothin' about nothin'. You just…shut your face!" Be changed the subject. "Every group's gotta have a leader. An' that's me!"

"But you're missing a large fact," Tifa and Renee grinned. "Jeanne's not hurt or out of order."

Barret flushed and Jeanne sighed. "Are you sure you want me to continue leading?" She asked them.

"Of course," Renee nodded. "You've gotten us through it so far without a lot of…bad things happening." Jeanne frowned as Aerith's face popped up and Claire and Cloud in the room below them. "You're doing a good job so far, so we're good."

Jeanne sighed and glanced at them all. "All right then. Where should we go first then?"

Barret voted for Corel and Tifa wanted Fort Condor but it was Yuffie's vote that surprised them all.

"We've got to go to Wutai before anywhere else!" The little sick teen told them, stumbling into the room.

"Wutai?" Zeke asked. "Why there?"

"I got a note from my father. He's really sick. I need to," She made a sick sound. "I need to get to him…fast!"

"He's sick?" Renee pulled a worried face and glanced at Jeanne. Yuffie was Renee's niece so her father was Renee's brother. Jeanne gave a nod.

"All right. We can stop by Wutai really quick. Right on the way to Fort Condor."

Barret pulled a face but he nodded. Cid gave a nod of his own before ordering the ship towards Wutai, none of them noticing the evil look on Yuffie's face as she turned back to the door before she ran off to get sick again.

**LOL, sorry, I couldn't leave Jeanne and the Twins at Mideel. Don't worry though, they'll come back for the surprise, I promise you.**

**Guess what guys! Not that much left. 10 at the most, lol. Can't wait! We're almost done! :)**

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	36. Chapter 33

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! :)**

**Chapter Thirty-Three**

**Wutai**

**Cid, Vincent, and Myra were the ones to leave the ship with Renee and Yuffie to finish the small path to Wutai. **Jeanne wasn't going to leave Cloud and Claire there and neither was Tifa. The others were off on their own, doing something though off of the ship but still nearby.

The five of them were talking and enjoyed being back on the ground again, even Cid was, and so everything was good and swell as Renee talked about getting something to eat to bring back with them for all the others when they returned and Yuffie started talking about the 'Turtle Paradise's' new cook and whatnot. As they were making plans, Yuffie suddenly placed herself in front of them all, her arms spread out.

"What happened all of a sudden?" Vincent asked her. "Did something happen?"

"I know this area pretty well," Yuffie told them. "It gets pretty tough past here; Better get ready…"

"I don't see any signs of danger," Vincent replied.

"Yuffie," Renee had an uneasy feeling. "What are you up to?"

"U-up to?" Yuffie stuttered. "What makes you think that? It's really tough up here!"

Renee went to reply again but another voice cut her off. "There they are, catch 'em!" A group of infantrymen decided to appear at that moment.

"ShinRa!" Cid growled.

"Hey, that's not them!" One of the men said. "These are the other guys from before!"

"So, what does this mean?" Vincent asked Yuffie. "You will explain this later."

"I didn't know!" Yuffie told them. "I have nothing to do with this one!"

"What do you mean 'this one'?" Myra asked her.

"You had something else in mind?" Vincent commented.

"No, umm. Uh…"

"What should we do?" The Soldier asked his companion.

"Uh, get them! Grab them and ask questions later!"

"Aww crap," Cid frowned, pulling out his spear. Myra pulled out her axe, Vincent began to shoot and Renee pulled out her hammer. These Infantrymen were actually quite strong and Renee was having a little problem with the two on her at the same time.

"Yuffie!" Renee glanced over her shoulder as her niece was reaching into her pockets. "What are you doing?" She demanded, trying to keep her attention on the man she was battling with.

"Sorry, Auntie," The teen replied before running off. "But I need this for Wutai!"

"I thought something was wrong," Vincent sighed when the battling was over. "So that's it. She wanted our Materia."

"Where did she go?" Cid demanded.

Vincent shook his head. "Inexcusable. She must have wanted it from the beginning."

"She ran to the North." Myra told them, pointing. "We need to get all of them back."

"She's run off to Wutai." Renee spoke up. She was shaking her head. "She believes that gathering Materia will bring Wutai back to power after what happened between them and ShinRa eight years ago. I had no idea…that she would go this far."

"Well, let's go get it back and knock some sense into her!" Cid told them running towards the town. The all followed.

Wutai was like a Chinese town with the towers and the bridges. They all gazed around at the red and yellow buildings before spotting the young ninja across the bridge in front of them.

"Yuffie!" Renee yelled. The young teen jumped and whipped around before running off.

"Where would she be going, Renee?" Myra demanded the woman next to her.

"She could hide anywhere here, and the people would help her. We should start looking everywhere. We'll use her father as a last resort." Renee answered with a stone face.

"Why not just go see him now?" Cid asked.

Renee gave him a look before moving across the bridge. "I'd rather not see my brother, if that's all right with you. If we can find her first and leave before I do I'd appreciate it."

Cid and the others stayed silent as Renee led them around the town. They had no luck at all on the first three buildings but in the fourth building, they had a little surprise waiting on them. Jena, Liana, Elena, Rude, and Reno. The five Turks were sitting at the table, laughing and having fun until Elena's eyes landed on Cid and the others.

"Y-y-you!" She brought the others attention to them. "How did you get here?" She stood up and reached for her gun. "Never mind that. I guess its fate that brought us together. Get ready to die!" Cid, Renee, and Vincent got ready but Myra just stood there, rolling her eyes.

"…Elena," Reno set his glass back down. "You talk too much."

The blonde was surprised. "What?"

"What are we doing way out here in the middle of nowhere?" Reno asked her.

"We're on vacation, you dolt." Liana leaned back in her chair beside Rude.

"Now if you continue on with what you're doing, you're going to ruin our vacation." Jena shook her head.

"B-but,"

"The booze will taste bad." Rude commented.

"…Sorry…" Elena lowered her head.

Myra shook her head. "I see that you haven't changed any," She told Reno.

The redhead turned to her. "I was thinking about you," Reno told her. "About where I had seen you before."

"Oh, did it finally come back to the front of that thick skull of yours?" She asked.

Reno let out a laugh with a smile. "Still haven't changed one bit." She looked at the four people at his table. "Guys, this is Myra Zoon. I grew up with her before she ran off 14 years ago to dig up bones."

"A twelve-year-old wanted to dig up bones?" Liana asked the woman. "Really?"

"No different than wanted to be a Turk or a SOLIDER," Myra shrugged before turning back to Reno. "We should meet up and get a drink sometime after all of this is over. Catch up on some things."

Reno gave her a soft smile. "I would like that."

Jena looked between the two of them in surprise for a moment before a soft smile broke out across her lips as she folded her hands. She turned to Vincent. "Where's Jeanne?"

"She's still on the ship." He answered. "With Cloud and Claire."

"You found them?" Liana's voice was full of relief.

"Sorta," Cid sighed.

"Call her," Renee told the sister. "Maybe she'll come out to see you. You're on vacation after all, right?"

Jena glanced at the others and nodded. "Yeah, I think I will. Where's the ship?"

"We can trust you, right Jena?" Vincent stared at her. The silent exchange of words made Vincent close his eyes. "Not that far. Once you leave the village you should be able to see it."

Jena nodded and left the restaurant without another word. Reno sighed, gazing after her for a moment before looking back at Myra. "What are you guys here for, anyway?"

"Oh, we're on a little break ourselves," She half-lied, half-admitted. "Just checkin' out Wutai."

"It's not too bad," Liana grinned as she crossed her arms on the table and laid her head down. "All this Chinese food is making my sleepy, though." Renee watched as Rude's hand went to go rub the woman's back but he stopped himself and made a grab for his glass instead. She smiled.

"Well, we'll just let you all continue on with your vacation." Cid told them before ushering them all out of the restaurant.

"They're not bad," Renee was grinning. "Just on the wrong side."

"Yeah, yeah," Cid waved it aside. "Let's find this damn brat!"

They searched all over the place and finally, Renee couldn't take it anymore. She led them to her brother's house and was ready to hear the worst off it.

The man was sprawled out on his bed in black and white, moaning like he was in pain.

"What do you want?" He asked. "Don't have anything much but you should be able to rest yourselves here. Make yourselves at home."

"Where's Yuffie?" Renee asked.

"Yuffie? Nope. Never heard of her." The man replied.

"Godo," Renee shook her head. "Don't lie to me. I'm looking for my niece and I know you know where she's at."

Godo shot straight up on his bed and turned to look at Renee. "So, this is why the ShinRa soldiers are here, huh? Look, if they're here after you, you might as well just leave. I'm not going to have problems with them because of you."

"What's with you, you coward?" Renee pulled a face as Yuffie jumped off the ceiling.

"Yuffie!" Godo jumped at his daughter suddenly appearing.

"You scared of the ShinRa?" Yuffie demanded her father. "Then why don't you fall into line and obey then, just like all the other towns. These guys are the ones who are really fighting the ShinRa!"

"Shut up!" Godo told his daughter. "What do you know about this?"

"You get beaten once, and then that's it?" Yuffie growled. "Auntie Renee gets back up and fights back! Why doesn't her brother? What happened to the mighty Wutai I used to know?"

"She's not your Aunt anymore, Yuffie!"

"The hell she isn't!"

Godo took a step towards his daughter. "No kid like you is going to talk to me like that! You keep acting like that and you ought to be ashamed of yourself."

"That's my style! And it's my own business, not yours! Don't you try and dictate what I should do!"

"Style? Dictate?" He glared at Renee as she gazed off at the wall over his shoulder. "Throwin' around all those fancy words…you're a miserable daughter!"

"Hmph! You're a sad excuse for a father and a brother!" Yuffie took off running when Godo chased her out of the room before the man returned alone.

"She got that attitude from my sister."

"Yeah, we know." Cid replied. Renee whacked him in the back of the head.

"What do you know? My sister died years ago." Godo replied.

"What are you talking about?" Cid demanded. "Renee's right-"

"Yuie died years ago," Godo said firmly. Renee shook her head at Cid, telling him to drop it.

"Let's just go." Renee told them, turning to leave. When they got outside, Myra and Vincent walked off to give Cid and Renee a moment to be alone.

"Well, I see why you didn't want to see him again," Cid gave a nervous laugh that just made the feeling worse.

"The moment I left," Renee sniffed. "I was dishonored. I'm not seen as part of the village anymore and they don't see Yuffie as my niece anymore. The only one that still does is Yuffie herself. Yuffie is the only one that sees me as family anymore."

Cid was silent for a moment, scratching the back of his head. "Well, you're still part of my family." Renee looked at him in surprise. "This entire group is now like a family," He told her. "And you're part of it; trust me."

Renee gave him a smile and rubbed her eyes dry. "You're right. Come on; let's go get our Materia back."

Everything was going good. They finale found Yuffie in a clay jar and convinced her to give back the Materia…until she dropped a trick on them and ran off. Literally.

"All right, dammit!" Cid growled, kicking the lever to lift the steel cage off of the others. "She's really starting to piss me off!"

Renee shook her head. "Same here. Let's hurry up and catch her and I'll teach her a lesson."

Renee seemed to know where Yuffie was headed this time and led them all to an underground passage. At Yuffie's scream, Renee took off down the tunnel. Bursting into the room they saw a large man holding a struggling Yuffie.

"Let go! I said let go!" Yuffie screamed. "Who do you think-Ow! What are you doing, Jerk!"

"Who are you!" Cid demanded. The man in red behind Yuffie and the other began to laugh. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I've finally got a new chicky!" The man laughed. "Two for one, in fact!"

"Two!" He placed himself in front of Myra and Renee.

"H-hey!" Elena's voice made them glance up to see another man was holding the struggling blond. "Let go of me! You're gonna regret this!" All of them ran out the door.

"What the hell just happened?" Myra asked.

They ended up back in Godo's home where three Infantrymen stood there before them, block the men's way of escaping.

"There he is! It's Corneo! Don't let him get away!" He tried to back up but Cid and the others stood there. "ATTAAAAACK!" The men did just that but Corneo jumped out of the way resulting in his freedom and the ShinRa attack them.

"Not us, you idiots!" Cid kicked one in the face.

"Let's go!" Renee took off outside just to find Reno, Rude, and Liana there as well.

"That Corneo is good at escaping," The redhead was saying.

"Elena's captured now," Liana shook her head.

"Yeah. Let's go. We'll give them a taste of what the Turks can do." Rude and Liana passed him and Reno gave a smirk. "That sounded pretty good. If Elena is in his hands, that's going to make things a little difficult. And uh…" He glanced at all of them.

Cid looked at him like he was an idiot. "…That's just beautiful! And now that #&*#^%'s walked off with Yuffie, too! And without that brat, we can't get our hands on our Materia!"

"Don't misunderstand," Reno decided to say. "We have no intention of joining you. But for now, we'll agree not the bother each other. That's all."

"Of course! There's no way we'd want to join up with the Turks anyway!" Cid replied.

Myra rolled her eyes again. "Which way did he run off to, Reno?"

"Here's a clue," The redhead grinned. "It's the place that stands out the most."

"The mountain," Renee immediately said. "That's the biggest place here so that'll easy catch anyone's attention."

And she was right. The three Turks were there, looking all over the place and so they joined them. They ran into each other every now and then, none of them finding anything until Renee led them to the middle face. Corneo had Yuffie and Elena both tied to the face and was saying something to them. Renee couldn't hear what they both screamed back at him but she wasn't going to just leave them there like that.

It seemed that Cid had the same idea. "Hey, that's as far as you go!"

"Wh-who's there?" Corneo demanded.

"Oh man!" Yuffie hung her head. "That old fart face, Cid!"

"Shut up Yuffie," Renee told her niece. "We'll be paying you back as soon as we're done though, don't worry."

"Who are you guys?" Corneo asked.

"Maybe God'd forgive an ugly *&#^% like you," Cid began. "But I sure won't!"

"You're an idiot." Myra shook her head.

"I don't care what you're doing," Vincent told him. "So much as the idiotic way you're doing it…"

"Seriously, dude," Renee crossed her arms.

"Be quiet," The man growled. "You don't know how much I've suffered since then…It's a long story, but…"

"I don't really give a damn!" Cid screamed. "You're gonna let the two girls go or else I'm gonna break your arm!"

"You guys are serious. Good. Good." Corneo rubbed his chin.

Renee and Myra exchanged a look. "What are you talking about?"

"This isn't a time for me to be fooling around, either," He replied. "I'm gonna make you play with my new pet, so you won't get in the way of my search for the bride! RAPPS- Come here!"

A giant bird flew up to attack them but Renee wasn't playing around as she whacked it with her hammer, smashing its head against the mountain and knocking it out.

"Let my niece go NOW!" She growled, taking a menacing step forward.

"Wait," Corneo held up his hands. "Just wait a second."

"Don't be such a poor loser, old man!" Cid told him.

"Just listen to me," He insisted. "It won't take long. Why do you think a bad guy like me would swallow his pride and plead for his life?"

"Don't care." Myra crossed her arms.

"Hmm," Corneo whipped out a trigger and pressed it. Both women on the stone face were whipped upside down. Both let out screams.

"This makes me so MAD!" Yuffie growled.

"If I push this button again, they'll fall upside down, and we'll have SQUASHED TOMATOES."

"So this is how a loser lives," Cid said as Vincent shook his head.

"You dirty son of a bitch." Myra and Renee clenched their fists.

"I guess I'm the one laughing last," Corneo laughed.

"No, that would be us." Reno's voice announced and they all looked to see Reno walk out on the hand past them.

"The Turks?" Corneo gulped.

"You knew this was gonna happen ever since you leaked that secret," Reno told the man. "We're going to take care of you…personally."

"Dammit!" Corneo then screamed- "Then you're all going with me!"

Something flashed past Renee's face and Corneo let out a scream. A Sai had knocked the button from his hand, which was no pinned to the rock behind him as Rude untied the girls and set them back on the ground safely.

"Good timing, guys." Reno grinned. He then moved over to Corneo. "All right. This'll be over quick, so listen up. Why do you think we went through all the trouble of teaming up with those guys to get you?"

"Because you were afraid to lose?" He guessed.

"Wrong." Reno removed the Sai from his hand before kicking him off the hand. Renee winced when his screaming finally came to a sudden end. "The correct answer was-"

"Because it's our Job." Rude finished.

"Oh, thank you very much!" Elena was smiling. "I never expected you to come help."

"Come on, we're all good," Liana butted in before Reno could speak. "But you have to show your strength, Elena. Act like Tseng of Jena during work, not like…like her." She thrusted a thumb over her shoulder at Yuffie. The teen glared at her as her Aunt clutched her to her. "Act strong."

"You…you're right." Elena nodded, holding her head down.

"Thank you," Renee told the Turks. "For saving Yuffie."

Reno scratched the back of his head and opened his mouth to reply but his phone went off. "Yes…this is Reno. Yes…Yes…I'll get on it right away."

"Was that the company?" Elena asked.

"Yeah, they want us to find Jeanne, Cloud, and Claire." Reno turned to look at Cid and the others.

"Are we on?" Rude asked.

"No, today we're off duty." The redhead replied. "Besides…Rufus told me that Jena said that they were seen headed towards Nibelheim earlier so that's where we'll start." Renee gave a sigh of relief. After what just happened, she didn't feel like fighting the Turks.

"Then…we'll see you soon I suppose." Liana grinned as the four of them began to leave.

"I guess," Myra nodded. "We'll send Jena back to the restaurant when we return to the ship."

"Don't worry," Reno called over his shoulder. "She'll already be there."

Yuffie led them to what they believed to be her house before she gave back all the Materia that she had taken from them.

"Phew, perfect," Yuffie grinned. "Now the Materia is back in its rightful place."

"What the hell's going on!" Cid growled. "The placement of the Materia's all messed up!"

"Huh?" Yuffie tilted her head. "Oh, it'll be all right…Don't be so picky! Anyways, that sure was close. Normally I would kick their butts! That Corneo guy's a real pain. I'd rather deal with my dad than deal with that guy. Oh, by the way, some of those guys from the Turks are good, huh?"

"Oh no, Yuffie," Renee shook her head, wrapping her arm around the teen's neck. "You're not getting off that easy."

"Don't worry," Yuffie grinned at her Aunt. "No matter what I'm going with you guys. Until next time, of course."

"Yuffie," Renee growled.

"I'm just joking!"

_**~I'm never gonna dance again**_

_**These guilty feet have got no rhythm**_

_**I'm never gonna dance again**_

_**The way I danced with you~**_

**Jeanne sat in her room. **She had left Cloud and Claire to take a shower about an hour ago but she just didn't feel like returning yet. She just wanted to be alone for now. Thinking. She sat on the small window couch, staring out the window. She wore one of Zack's shirts as she held Genesis' blade across her lap. She was tracing that medallion around her neck. Sienna had left them behind for her in that bag as well, but she had given one to Genesis the last time that she had seen him. That was also the day that he had given her his sword.

The closer they came to the end, the more she found herself longing for it to start over from the beginning. Back to where she first meet Sienna and Zack. Where she first met them all. Maybe she could change things. If she could…

"Missing them as much as I do, hmm?"

Jeanne turned her head to see her sister in the doorway. She turned back to the window. "I always miss them.""

"I hear that you found the twins. Are they all right?"

Jeanne closed her eyes. "Not really. They have, once again, falling under Mako addiction due to coming into contact with the Lifestream. They're just like they were last time."

Jena gave a nod before walking towards her sister. "So, that explains all…this." She sat down across from her. "You know, I do miss my rather happy, loud, and teasing sister."

Jeanne glared at her. "What is there to be happy about? Everyone I loved is gone! Hell, even you are. And now Cloud and Claire are…they're…" She closed her eyes again, gripping the handle of Genesis' sword as she fought back the tears that she had been fighting since Mideel. "I only got through it last time because Zack was there with me. Through both Genesis' battle and with the twins,. But he's not now! He's not! How am I going to do it this time? Will I even be able to fight Sienna and Sephiroth in the end? Or will I just stand there like I had when Aerith died?"

"Zack's still here, Jeanne. With his parents, with you. I'm sure he's with Cloud and Claire still too, even if they don't remember who he is."

"Yeah," Jeanne sighed, staring out the window again. "That's what I'm afraid of."

Jena raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I'm…I'm just an idiot." Jeanne shook her head. "Stupid. I sometimes find myself thinking…seeing Cloud as Zack. He gave Cloud his sword, told him that he would be his living legacy. I just…these feelings…is it just because of Zack that I have these feelings for Cloud?" Jena looked at her sister in surprise. "He's changed so much. When we first met he was so timid and shy. Now he's…he's nothing like he used to be. It just…did I ever like him to begin with…or just Zack."

Jena stared at her sister in silence for a moment. She had not been expecting that to come from her sister's mouth. How was she supposed to respond to that? "Well, that is something that only you can answer, Jeanne. When Cloud and Claire pull out of their addiction, tell them everything. Only after that can you receive the answer that you're looking for. Whether or not you like it, at least you'll finally have it."

Jeanne watched after her sister as she left the room before turning back to gaze out the window again.

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	37. Chapter 34

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**I know that it's been a while. Forgive me. School has been a pain and the finals are the next two weeks so give me until after then. Over Christmas there should be a lot submitted ;)**

**Chapter Thirty-Four**

**Answers**

**They obtained the Materia from Fort Condor but they lost the one that was at Corel. **Jeanne wanted to go straight for Midgar now but Tifa had talked her into returning to Mideel for a moment to have the Doctor check up on Cloud and Claire to see if they had gotten any better. It was a smart idea.

"If you ever do that again-" The doctor was pissed and was breathing down Jeanne's neck as Cid and Zeke set the twins down in the wheelchairs.

"I get it, I get it," Jeanne pushed him off of her. "But I wasn't staying here and letting these guys go off on their own and leaving the two of them here, so I chose to take them with us. Zack and I took them with us last time and nothing happened so don't get pissy."

Jeanne turned from the doctor before he could say anything and sat down on the chair to the side of Claire. Cid and Zeke were talking to the doctor and Vincent walked in after a little while to check on them, she supposed. Vincent was a strange person, but she felt…close to him for some reason. Perhaps it was because his blood was used to make Sienna, but she wasn't sure. He was just a quiet guy. She was going to have to talk to him a bit more to get him to open up some more; if he did at all.

At that moment, Claire lifted her head and turned her eyes to stare at Jeanne, who titled her own head in a bit of hope. She felt tears rise in her eyes as she heard her name come slipping from her lips like they had before at Zeke's house.

"They're getting better!" She cried, rubbing her eyes. "Everything's going to be all right soon."

"How can you be sure?" Vincent asked her.

"They've gone through this before. Claire said my name almost a week or two before they returned to normal," ~If you want to call Cloud's actions normal to how he used to be~ "Just a little longer." She gave another sigh of relief.

At that moment the ground began to shake.

"They're…" Cloud's voice made them all turn to stare at the blond. "They're…coming!"

"What did you say?" Cid demanded. Cloud didn't' reply as Jeanne placed a hand on each of the twins. He and Vincent exchanged a look before running outside. "What's going on?" Everyone was screaming and running about and that noise that Red Xlll's grandfather had told them about, the cries from the earth, could be heard loudly.

"The Lifestream is gushing up from below the surface!" Zeke's voice made them turned to see him, Tifa, and Yuffie standing nearby while the others were scattered around the rest of the town.

"Damn! That's…this is bad!" Cid cried.

"Cid," Jeanne stuck her head out of the clinic, about to come out and help with what was going on, but Cid pushed her back inside.

"Stay there with the two of them! We can take care of this!" He told her.

"Damn right we can," Zeke growled. "I'm not going to let her look better than me this time!"

"Look!" Cait Sith pointed about them at the large Dragon flying above them.

"That's the other Weapon!" Yuffie cried. "What are we going to do?"

"What do you think?" Renee asked her. "We're gonna fight it!"

"But-"

"Don't worry," Tifa smiled at her as Barret lifted his gun-arm up. "Everything'll be fine.

"All right, everyone," Zeke began to lead the way towards the creature. "Let's do this!"

_**~Silent night, let me sleep away these memories within**_

_**sacrifices of purities are turning into sins**_

_**And this judgement day is growing near**_

_**And this confession is killing me again**_

_**This beautiful tragedy is crashing into me**_

_**This dying destiny~**_

"**What the hell?"** Cid growled, watching as the Dragon began to leave. "You can't escape!" The moment it was gone the ground stopped shaking.

"Damn, man." Barret shook his head. "Just a little bit more an' I woudda smashed him."

"The Lifestream also appears to be normal." Vincent gazed around them town.

The ground began to shake and Zeke glared at the man beside him. "You just had to, didn't ya? You just had too."

"This is bad," Yuffie told them. "Something else is on its way. We gotta get out of here!"

"What about Jeanne and the twins?" Tifa asked.

"You don't have time to worry about anyone but yourself! You don't know when that stream'll blow…"

"But we can't leave them!" Tifa cried, going to head back to them but Barret grabbed her. "No! Let me go!" She struggled and struggled but Zeke wouldn't let her go. "Please!" Her cries were all in vain as they others all hurried to the ship, leaving the trio behind in the clinic.

_**~So now you lay yourself down in this grave with shattered eyes  
>Beautiful melodies to try and wash away the lies<br>And this judgement day is growing near  
>And this confession is killing me again<br>This beautiful tragedy, is crashing into me  
>This dying destiny, take me away<br>This beautiful tragedy, come crashing into me  
>This dying destiny~<strong>_

"**Everything's getting worse,"** Jeanne already had Cloud on her back and was trying her best to carry Claire at the same time but it wasn't working too well. The moment that the ground started to shake again she knew they had better get out of there and quickly. "We'd better get out of here while we still can." She glanced at the doctor and the nurse. "Don't you think you should get out as well?"

The Doctor nodded. "It would be a good idea. But the structure can't take it. Hurry!" The two of them ran out the door. Jeanne went to follow but she was trying too much. She couldn't carry the three swords, the two of them, and her things. So, she dropped everything and just hurried out the door. She didn't like leaving Zack or Genesis' sword behind but Cloud and Claire's life were more important than them. She hurried down the street as fast as she could, the land tumbling down into the Lifestream behind her. She tried to make it out of the town but she was too slow and it caught up to her. The Lifestream was a bright green as it ate the land and Jeanne closed her eyes, holding the twins to her as hard as she could as the three of them were also swallowed up.

She didn't know how long it was before she could open her eyes again to find herself sitting on a circular, stone platform in the middle of some large, black pit. There was nothing there. No Cloud, No Claire, nothing. Nothing but three swords, stuck into the stone. She was surprised to see them, but she wasn't going to leave them there. Putting Genesis' sword on her left hip, Claire's on her right, and putting Zack's on her back, she took another glance around the area she was at, trying to think of what she was going to be able to do. If she was going to have to stay here for the rest of eternity she was going to be as pissed as well.

Closing her eyes again and taking a deep breath, she took a step forward and opened them again. "Whoever thought this up is weird." She was still in the black pit but the platform changed into something that made her think if the planet's core and there were several people sitting around her. Well, only two, but they were standing in several different places. "Cloud?" She called out. "Claire?" None of them moved and the two figures that were floating in the air above her just continued to hold their heads. "Where are we?" She asked herself, glancing around for a moment. She searched her brain, trying to find answers. "Is…are you trying to find the answers?" She shook her head. "I should have just told the two of you from the beginning. I can't change that now," she turned to the set that stood before what looked like Nibelheim. "But I'm going to tell you everything."

"The Gates of Nibelheim," Claire began in a drone-like voice.

"Seven years ago, Sephiroth and Sienna passed through these gates…" Cloud's voice matched hers. "And…that's how it all started."

Jeanne nodded. "Everything that happened was here." She took a breath before the three of them walked through the gateway and found themselves in front of Nibelheim again. "I know this won't be easy," She told the twins. "But I'm here for you. The twins stayed silent as they stood there, waiting. Moments later, Sephiroth and Sienna walked towards them and paused at the gates.

"_So, how does it feel?" Sephiroth asked, glancing over his shoulder. "To be home after all this times? We have no hometown. We wouldn't know." He referred to himself and his partner._

The younger Cloud, Claire, and Jeanne were now brought into the picture with the three Infantrymen.

"_Uh, what about your family?"_

_Sephiroth was the one to answer. "  
>My mother's name is Jenova. She died shortly after I was born. My father…" HE began to laugh, throwing his head back and placing a hand on his forehead. "Why am I talking about this?" He turned away. "Come on, let's go."<em>

Jeanne hated seeing this part again. No matter how she saw it, no matter what happened, Sephiroth and Sienna were still the victims in her eyes. The victims that finally had enough and decided to retaliate.

Cloud and Claire moved to stand in the spots that their memory-selves were in but Jeanne shook her head. "No, Cloud. Claire. I shouldn't have let the two of you believe for as long as I did, but I can't change it now. The two of you were in Nibelheim with me seven years ago, but…" She shook her head. "The SOLDIERs that were ordered here were Sephiroth, Sienna, myself and…" She lifted a hand and touched the Buster Blade that was on her back. "No, that's something that you have to figure out for yourselves." Sephiroth and Sienna popped back up.

"_Come on, let's go." The rest of the group arrived too, but this time it was a man with black spikey hair that was standing beside Jeanne. He greatly resembled Zeke._

Jeanne stared at the man for a moment with a small smile before the forms disappeared again and they were standing in the Planet's Core again.

"You mean that the two of us…weren't with Sephiroth?" Cloud asked.

"No, the two of you were there with us," Jeanne replied. "You just weren't…my partners."

"What do…you mean?" Claire asked her.

"You can find the answers on your own," She told them. "You might move only a little at a time but you'll get there." The two of them nodded and sat back down so Jeanne turned to the next set that was standing to the left of her. She wondered where this one was going to take her as she walked over.

"A crashed helicopter," Claire began. "On a cold, snowy mountain. Our first meeting…or is that just another lie?"

Jeanne pondered for a moment, thinking about what she was talking about before smiling. "Well, why don't we go find out?" She took a step forward and found herself shivering in snow as the twins moved to either side of her. "From the beginning, all right? Try and remember, guys."

On the large mountainside, a helicopter had crashed into the snow and people were standing up from the snow. She saw herself in the SOLDIER uniform, her sister and Tseng in their suits, there were several Infantrymen there as well, and…and Zack was there as well.

_Zack pushed himself up from the snow. "Ugh…well, that's a fine how-do-you-do!"_

_"You're telling me." Jeanne agreed, holding her head for a moment._

_Tseng pulled out his cell phone. "There's no signal out here." He announced as everyone gathered around._

_"Oh, we'll be fine," Jeanne told her sister's partner._

_"Thankfully, we have someone used to this kind of terrain." Tseng looked at Zack._

_He shrugged and shook his head. "Yeah, yeah, I'm a country boy…"_

_"Hey, Jena and I can do just fine, can't we, sis?" Jeanne looked at her._

_She nodded. "No doubt. I'm not going to let you SOLDEIRs show me up."_

_"All right, then," Tseng began to lead the way. "We would have reached Modeoheim by now if we hadn't crashed. She we're going to need to make up for lost time."_

_"All right. Follow me then!" Zack told them, starting the trek through the snowy mountain._

_"See, I told you we could keep up with you just fine, Zack." Jeanne punched her partner's arm._

_"Yeah, yeah, you told me."_

_Zack, Jeanne, Jena, and the two Infantrymen that had hugged each other on the helicopter were walking ahead of Tseng and two other Infantrymen. The Trio were having problems._

_"Yo! Don't fall too far behind!" Zack decided to call back. "At least you two are keeping up!" He commented to the two Infantrymen._

Jeanne glanced at Cloud and Claire as they continued to follow after the memory. Both were staring intently at the group ahead of them. She gave a silent sigh and turned back herself.

_"Well, we're from the country, too." The man's voice made Jeanne freeze for a moment. His voice was soft, pleasing, sending a shiver down her back and yet, making her feel warm. How in the world did that happen?_

_"From where?" Zack asked._

_"Nibelheim," The man answered. Zack began to laugh. "How about you?"_

_"Me?" Zack was grinning happily. "Gongaga." Both of the Infantrymen laughed at that. "Hey, what's so funny about that? You know Gongaga?"_

_"No, but it's such a backwater name." The other Infantryman sounded…feminine?_

_"Ditto Nibelheim." Zack responded, turning away._

_"Like you've been there." The first Infantryman said._

_"I haven't," Zack turned back to them. "But there's a reactor there, right?" They both nodded. "A Mako Reactor outside Midgar usually means…"_

_"Nothing else out there." All three of them said it as the Rush sisters began to laugh and they joined them._

_"Good news, Tseng! Me and…" He glanced at the Infantrymen. Both took their helmets off._

_"Cloud."_

_"Claire."_

_"Me, Cloud, and Claire here are all backwater experts. Oh yeah!" Zack smiled._

_"Good. Carry on then," Tseng called up to them._

_Jeanne's mouth almost fell open. That explained why one sounded feminine. It was a girl. Also explained why they grabbed onto each other in the helicopter. They were brother and sister._

_Cloud looked to be the older twin with spiky blond hair and bright green eyes. Claire was shorter that her brother and held longer hair almost too her waist, but the eyes were the same. Both were wearing the Infantryman uniform of blue clothing with several belts and straps and a gray-green piece of cloth around the collar._

_And boy was Cloud cute._

"Sephiroth and Sienna said that you made up your memories. Now, how in the hell could you have known everything that happened if you created it? Even Zack said everything that he did."

"We were…Infantrymen?" Claire asked.

"If so," Cloud turned his head to her. "What happened at…at Nibelheim? Why do we all think…something different happened?"

Jeanne gave his shoulder a squeeze before turning back to walk through the gate again. "Let's go see, shall we?" She turned to look up at the Nibelheim gate again.

"I…I remember something else," The final Claire spoke before Jeanne could move again. "Another…memory…"

Jeanne moved over to that set as they stood in front of a window. As she looked through it, it wasn't hard for her to realize where they were. Junon. This was during the time that Hollander was escaping with Genesis.

_"God! You're always getting sick, Cloud!" Claire pinched the bridge of her nose, her long hair pulled back in a braid. "Toughen up a bit."_

_Cloud, bent over with a support had on the wall, glanced up at her, "I'm sorry."_

_She sighed, "It's fine."_

_"Hey," Zack crossed his arms. "Are you all right?"_

_"Y-yeah…" Cloud responded. He straightened and turned to face them. "On the helicopter…I got a little nauseous…"_

_"Hey! You're Cloud!" Zack grinned._

_"Wow, you remembered me." The blonde man was surprised._

_Claire and Jeanne exchanged looks. "That surprises you?" They both asked._

_"Of course I remember!" Zack put his hands on his hips. "We're happy to be working with you again. Both of you, right, Jeanne?"_

_The woman nodded her head with a smile. "Indeed we are."_

_"Yeah," Cloud hung his head a bit. "All though our work is a little dull."_

_Claire sighed. "I have to agree. This is boring!"_

_"What are the two of you talking about?" Jeanne demanded._

_"Rescue work is an important task!" Zack added. "And after this, how about a bite to eat? Jeanne's treat."_

_"Yeah! That- Hey!" Jeanne scowled at Zack. "Watch it, Zack!"_

_Claire and Cloud laughed. "That would be great!" Cloud smiled. "Once I'm all better, we'd love to go."_

_"Definitely." Claire nodded._

"He always…made jokes on you, right?" Claire asked.

"Always," Jeanne watched as the setting changed and she saw herself walking down a hall, talking on her phone. "And he wasn't the only one that did it, either."

_"Who was that?"_

_Jeanne looked up and saw the twins Cloud and Claire by the wall. "Hey," She greeted, putting her phone back in her pocket. "That was just a friend. She's working on the Rocket ship in Rocket Town." She scratched her head. "What are you two doing here?"_

_"We're going with you guys on this next mission. Do you think I'll get to see Sienna?" Claire asked excitedly. "Where is it that we're going?"_

_"I don't know where we're going, but I'm pretty sure that you'll get so see Sienna. You will be riding with us, yeah?"_

_"Yes!" It was Cloud that said that, not his sister. The two girls laughed at the blushing boy. "Hey, Jeanne, where's Zack?" He then asked._

_She shrugged. "Probably, ah, who knows? He'll show up and if he doesn't it's his fault."_

_"Aww, are the two of you fighting?" Claire asked in a teasing voice._

"_No. What would make you think that?"_

_"Is this about that girl down in the Slums?" Cloud asked._

_"What?" Jeanne turned red. "How do you know about her?"_

_"Told you," Cloud told his sister. "Cough up the dough."_

_Claire grumbled under her breath and pulled out her wallet to pass a twenty to her brother. Jeanne's mouth dropped open. "What? You're betting on us now? You barely even know us!"_

_"We know," Claire nodded. "That's what makes it more fun."_

_Jeanne opened her mouth to say something, but paused for a moment. "Touché." They all laughed._

_"What's up?" Zack's voice made Claire, Cloud and Jeanne break off of their laughter._

_"I'm having a little trouble rounding up the group." Cloud lied._

_"At least he was until you showed up." Claire whispered to Jeanne. They shared a giggle._

_"We're in a hurry. Let's move it!" Zack moved forward._

_"Sir!"_

_Zack pulled a surprised face as he got closer. "Wha? Cloud? Claire? Together again, eh? All right!" The two men butted arms._

_"Can you not recognize this spiky blond head, Zackie?" Claire asked as she gave her brother a noogie._

_Cloud chuckled as he shoved her off. "Thanks, Zack. Hold on. We'll get everyone." The twins jogged off._

_Zack's conversation with Jeanne was cut off when the four infantry men straightened up. They all watched Sephiroth and Sienna walk up. Jeanne snuck a side look and saw Cloud and Claire watching them in admiration._

_"By the way," Zack decided to ask. "Where are we going?"_

_Sephiroth and Sienna both turned, answering together._

_"To Nibelheim."_

"To remember all this…" Claire shook her head and Cloud pulled a strong face.

"We didn't make this up! We didn't make you up, Jeanne!"

"No, you didn't." She nodded, turning back to the gates of Nibelheim. "You're almost there; just a little longer.

Jeanne hurried back to Nibelheim again, eager to get this over with and the twins back to normal. The trio hurried off to the reactor just in time to see Sephiroth toss Tifa down the steps and disappear behind the door at the top.

"Zack, right?" Cloud asked as the man and Jeanne burst into the room.

"Yes," Jeanne nodded, watching as the memory continued. Cloud and Claire weren't there for everything that happened, but it played through. It must have gone to their minds like the others had. She bit her lip, watching everything that happened again.

As if it didn't haunt her memories enough at night as it did.

_Zack and Jeanne burst right into the building just to stop in their tracks at the foot of the stairs, taking in the sight of the two bodies there._

_Tifa and her father._

_"Sephiroth and Sienna did this…didn't they?" Zack asked, kneeling beside Tifa._

_Tifa glanced at him. He held his hand out and she turned away, holding herself in fear. Jeanne watched in fear. Jeanne watched Zack clench his hands before following him up the stairs._

_"I hate you! I hate ShinRa, I hate SOLDIER! I hate you all!" Tifa's voice followed them._

_Zack pulled out his sword and with a yell slashed the Jenova door apart. The room was full of wires and tubes, hooked up to a large metal figure behind two statues that Jeanne couldn't see behind._

_"Mother, let's take back the planet together." The voice made Jeanne pause. "I…had an epiphany." That was when she realized that the two figures weren't statues. They were Sienna and Sephiroth. Sephiroth was standing before what seemed to be a female, human form encrusted in metal while Sienna stood next to him, leaning on the wall as she watched._

_"Let's go to the Promised Land," Sienna added, finally pushing herself off the wall._

_"Mother…"They echoed each other._

_"Sephiroth!" Zack cried as Jeanne called Sienna's name. "Why did you kill the townspeople? Why did you hurt Tifa? Answer me, Sephiroth!"_

_"What did you find that made you do this?" Jeanne demanded._

_They weren't even looked at as Sephiroth began to chuckle._

_"Mother, they're here again. You should have ruled this planet. You were stronger, smarter."_

_"But then they came," Sienna's gaze finally turned to Zack and Jeanne, glaring._

_"Those inferior dullards…" Sephiroth said. "They came and took this planet away from you."_

_"But don't be sad, Mother," Sienna turned back to the metal figure._

_"We are with you, now…" Sephiroth reached up to the metal form and began to rip it away. Cords snapped and some kind of liquid began to drain from the eyes and mouth. As Sephiroth tossed it away, Sienna raised a hand and froze the destroyed cords so a fire wouldn't start. Both turned back to the tube behind the metal figure, looks of joy and relief on their faces._

_"We meet at least, mother…"_

Jeanne frowned, watching as the battle between the four of them took place.

_"Zack!" Jeanne cried, watching her partner be flung back into the pod-room by Sephiroth's blow._

_Jeanne went to chase after him but Sienna moved first, swinging her blade. Jeanne blocked it just in time, though it resulted in her being flung through the air and crash into the wall. Then all she could do was watch as Sienna, with a cold, hateful look on her face, created more ice spikes and thrusted them at her, penetrating her body. She was now left hanging to the wall. She could no longer move, her sword left behind on the platform with Zack's. All she could do now was bleed…and watch as the two – crazed SOLDEIR members returned to Jenova._

_Sienna pressed her forehead against the glass. "You'll be free soon, Mother…and then…we'll make them pay. We'll make ShinRa pay!"_

_ShinRa was the reason for all this? It was their fault! Jeanne had to find out that they found. What Sienna had hidden behind the bookshelf under ShinRa Manor. That might just explain everything._

_At the sound of running footsteps, Jeanne turned her head and saw two figures run towards Sephiroth and Sienna with her and Zack's swords._

_The one holding Zack's sword stabbed though Sephiroth, cracking the tube Jenova was in. Sienna turned just in time though and blocked the other sword._

_Sephiroth turned, surprise on his face. Cloud pulled Zack's sword back and Sephiroth fell to his knees, his hand sliding down the tube._

_Jeanne watched Sienna's eyes turn to fear as she kicked Claire away and went back to Sephiroth._

_Claire paused for a moment, thinking before she turned and went to Jeanne. Jeanne could see the tears in her eyes. "Are you all right?" She then scoffed. "Stupid question." Clinging to the cords on the wall, Claire climbed up like a monkey and carefully began to pull out the spikes. Jeanne wasn't that far from the ground so the fall wasn't too bad. It still hurt like hell, though._

_Claire crawled back down and pulled Claire's arm over her shoulder and began to lead her out of the room._

_"Zack," Jeanne moaned as she saw him lying on the stairs._

_His eyes on her seemed to mimic her pain. "Oh, Jeanne…"_

_"Is Tifa okay?" Claire called down to her brother._

_Jeanne turned her head to see Cloud looking up at her, Tifa in his arms. "Yes…she's just knocked out." He took another look over Jeanne as she tried to stop her bleeding by ripping the jacket up that Claire had given her. "Are you going to be okay?"_

_Jeanne gave him a thumbs up. "Of course. You forget. I've had bombs exploded three feet away from me. This is nothing compared to that." She winced as Claire tightened one of the strips on her arms._

_Cloud gave her a sigh and opened his mouth to speak but footsteps beat him._

_Sephiroth came walking out with Sienna beside him. He was slightly hunched over with Masamune in his left hand and Jenova's head cradled in his right. He stared down at Cloud with immeasurable hatred._

_"How dare you…!" He growled._

_"Cloud…finish Sephiroth off." Zack called from his place on the stairs._

_Cloud nodded as he set Tifa back down._

_Claire was still holding Jeanne, but she pushed her away, taking a firm grip on her sword._

_"Jeanne, no!" Claire argued, grabbing her shoulders. "You can't! You're too wounded. Any more fighting and you'll die."_

_Jeanne shoved Claire away, taking a step towards the other two SOLDEIRs. "The only one…that will…finish Sienna off…is me." She struggled to breath._

_Sienna smirked. "If you can."_

_"Sephiroth!" Cloud screamed, running up the stairs._

_Jeanne struggled to follow him but her sword fell from her hands as she went to her knees. Sienna took this chance and dove forward. She grabbed the front of Jeanne's shirt and flung her back into the other room, Cloud following from Sephiroth's attack. Jeanne couldn't get back up this time. She had lost too much blood. She felt her consciousness fading but struggled to hang on as she watched Cloud be stabbed and hoisted into the air by Sephiroth._

_"Don't…test me!" The silver-haired man snarled._

_"Cloud!" Claire screamed as she ran towards Sephiroth, Jeanne's sword in her hands again. Sienna turned though, stabbing her blade in Claire's chest._

_Jeanne felt as if her blood froze. "No! Claire! Stop it, Sienna!" She couldn't do anything to save her friend. She was stuck, bleeding on the floor. If she moved anymore she was afraid that…_

_Cloud lifted his head and grabbed Sephiroth's sword and began to drag himself closer until his feet were on the floor again. He lifted Sephiroth up off the ground now as he still gripped his blade._

_"No…! Impossible!" Sephiroth said as he was the one w now hanging in the air._

_With a growl, Cloud flung Sephiroth to the side. Jeanne watched Sienna jump in the way to catch Sephiroth before hitting the wall, taking the blunt of the explosion. She wrapped her arms around the man she loved, leaving them to fall below together._

_"Sienna!" Jeanne wanted to get up and grab the woman before she fell, but she couldn't move. Tears swelled up in her eyes as pain continued to roll through her body. And the fact that she couldn't do anything made it all feel worse._

_"Jeanne…" The woman looked up to see that Zack had crawled to her from the other room as Cloud was kneeling beside his sister. "Don't worry…" He told her with a weak grin._

_"Zack…" She cried softly, reaching for his hand. She felt so weak…so helpless._

_Zack grabbed her hand, still with that weak smile. "Everything…will be…all right."_

_She slowly nodded, resting her head back down on the floor. _

"We saw everything," Cloud spoke. "We were never SOLDIERs. We were Infantrymen. Zack was your partner, not us. But still…the four of us…we were…we were together."

_They were all in the back of a large van. Sienna and Sephiroth, in their black leather and read less faces sat with their backs against the wall, both with their arms crossed and eyes closed. An Infantryman was driving; three more were sitting across from the four SOLDIERs. Jeanne was sitting beside Sienna in silence as well and Zack was on Jeanne's other side._

_"It sure is raining hard," Zack decided to break the silence as the rain pounded onto the roof._

_Jeanne gave him a glance. "That's the fourth time you've said that, Zack." _

_Claire gave a laugh. "That's because he's annoying." She turned to her brother "You all right?"_

_The man nodded. "I'm all right."_

"_Cloud, if you're feeling sick, take your mask off." Zack told the man._

"_Yeah," The blond pulled it off with a sigh._

"_You get sick a lot and easily," Jeanne told him. _

_Cloud gave another sigh. "I'm sorry."_

"_Don't be," Zack told him, shooting his partner a look. "She's just being herself."_

"We never made it as SOLDIERs before all of this happened," Claire spoke. "And when we returned we were too embarrassed to see anybody and so we kept silent, even after running into Tifa and the others. We did have dinner with our mother once, though. The four of us."

"We did, didn't we?" Jeanne smiled, turning and leaving Nibelheim again. She looked at the twins as they all came together. "Is everything…all right now?"

Cloud nodded his head. "Yes."

"I'm…I'm sorry that I never told the two of you anything," She told them. "I should have, but I…"

"Yeah, that was pretty stupid of you," Claire grinned at her friend. "But we understand. Don't worry about it. Just don't do it again."

Jeanne glanced at Cloud and he gave her a nod and a small smile of his own. She gave a sigh of relief before grabbing to two swords off of her. "Here," She held the Buster Blade out to the blond. "Zack gave this to you."

Cloud grabbed it and Claire grabbed her own before turning to look around the place herself. "Now, just how in the hell do we get out of here?"

_**~Will you be there  
>Will you be there by my grave<br>Or will you be the death of me  
>And my, my beautiful tragedy<br>This beautiful tragedy, is crashing into me  
>This dying destiny, take me away<br>This beautiful tragedy, come crashing into me  
>This dying destiny~<strong>_

"**Are they ever going to wake up?" **Tifa asked worriedly as they all stood over the three bodies that they had returned for. Everything was back to normal now.

"I can get them up," Zeke gave a grin.

"Touch me and I will rip your hair out," Claire's voice greeted them and they turned to see that the three of them were starting to wake up. Tifa jumped on the twins as Renee held a hand out to Jeanne, helping her up.

"I see that you guys came back," The woman rubbed her back. She turned to the twins, glad to see that the two of them were all right as well.

"Of course," Myra grinned. "We couldn't just leave you guys there." She then gave a sigh. "You guys sure are tough ones. What happened?"

Jeanne turned from the twins with a small smile. "We just found some answers."

**Whoo! Damn that was a long-ass chapter! Hope you guys enjoyed that! We're almost done guys! I can't believe it! I'm going to miss making this so much it's going to be horrible! lol**

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	38. Chapter 35

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Chapter Thirty-Five**

**Reunions and Separations**

**They were in Junon again and Jena's nerves were driving her insane as she stood outside of Rufus' office, Tseng and Liana before her. **The man didn't seem surprised at what Jena had told him, but then again, Tseng had known it since the beginning of this whole thing; or at least he said he did. Liana told her that she had felt the same the moment she met Jena's younger sister, and the woman was now speechless. Jena felt closest to Tseng and Liana but now…she was afraid that what she had told them was going to ruin everything, but the two of them assured her that nothing was going to change…and that they would be waiting.

"Go," Tseng moved out of the way of the door. "He's waiting."

"We'll tell the others." Liana told her.

Jena gave them a nod before knocking on the door and entering the room. Rufus' head immediately popped up from the desk, bags under his eyes. He had been sleeping. She smiled at him sadly as she shook her head. Some people might not have seen it, but Rufus had been working hard since the beginning of all of this and they might have seen him as the enemy, but he was nothing like his father was.

"Jena," The man rubbed his eyes before standing up. "Is something wrong?" The woman was silent for a moment, just staring at him as she summoned the urge to do what she was planning too. Her silence made Rufus worried. "Has something happened to your sister?"

Jena closed her eyes as they began to water up. "No, Jeanne's fine. I just…" Her voice faltered.

Rufus gave a soft smile before walking to her. "Don't worry, Jena. Everything will be fine. Though she's against us, I won't let any harm befall your sister."

The woman gave a sigh before opening her eyes again and gazing at the man before her. On top of all the things that he was worried about, he was still worried about her. Rufus was such a foolish man. Such a foolish, caring, loving man. Jena had been thinking about this for days now. She had decided that she was going to do this and it was now or never!

Rufus froze as Jena's lips crashed against his, but that didn't last for long as he gave back what he longed for from this woman for years. Her lips were as soft as he always felt they would be. She tasted of cinnamon and apples and her skin was so smooth. Rufus placed one hand on her hip while the other was on her neck. Both of them were breathing hard as they finally pulled back from the other, Rufus was wearing a large grin on his face but Jena's was still made of stone.

"What called that forward?" Rufus asked her.

Jena didn't look at him. She moved towards the window that was looking over Junon as the people all moved around. "I'm leaving," She finally told him.

Rufus raised his eyebrows. "But you just got here."

"No," She shook her head. "I mean…I'm leaving. I'm leaving ShinRa."

Rufus was silent for a moment and she turned to her see that his mouth had dropped open. "But…but why? You can't just leave! Not at a time like this! We're trying to stop the world from being destroyed! If you leave then-"  
>"That's the point, Rufus!" Jena cleared her throat, calming her voice down. "If this world is about to end…then I have to spend it with who means the most to me." She turned back to the window. "Jeanne has been kept from me for eight years. I've missed her more than anything. Fighting against her hurt me so much more than you could ever know…but since both sides are looking for a way to keep Meteor from landing, why can't we just work together? But I know that we won't and so…I made a choice. "I can't," Jena squeezed her eyes shut and took deep breaths. "I can't keep doing this. I'm not letting her go off without me again, Rufus." She turned and moved past Rufus, dodging his hand as he reached for her. "I'm sorry, but I'm…I'm going with Jeanne. Put me down as a traitor; I don't care." She began to move towards the door. "Just…let me get out of the building. If not, anyone in my way…" She didn't need to finish. "Perhaps…when all of this is over…you won't mind it if I come back to ShinRa…too you. If you can forgive me."<p>

Jena didn't want to know what Rufus was going to do as his footsteps neared her so she just hurried from the room. She was afraid…and so she had to leave quickly. She hurried to the elevator and as she waited for the doors to close she saw the rest of the Turks come up the stairs. Elena and Reno wearing looks of horror on their faces; Rude even looked a little distraught. Liana looked sad and Tseng looked the same as he always did, but Jena had worked with him for years. She knew what he was trying to hide. Their heads turned to the elevator and as the doors closed, Jena lifted a hand in a sign of farewell. Reno ran to the doors to try and stop them but he was too late.

Jena leaned against the wall, trying to keep herself from crying. Now, if she would get out of Junon without being caught, everything would be fine. Now, she just had to let the others know. She pulled er cellphone out and dialed a number. She prayed that her sister still had Zack's phone.

_**~Hey listen, because I'll only say this once**_

_**Do you think that you could lose yourself in me?**_

_**I could say I want to die by your side one day**_

_**But I could never speak the words**_

_**Because they haven't wrote the words that mean enough to me **_

_**So together we can burn this way **_

_**Stop and say you love me, always, I'll say the same to you~**_

**Cloud and Claire had told the others everything that they learned**. No one really seemed to be bothered by it, though. Zeke seemed very pleased by it because Cloud had to apologize to him on behalf of his cousin. Cloud had even offered Zeke the buster blade, but the other man refused it, saying 'Zack gave it to you for a reason'. Tifa seemed to be very proud of the remaining Fair and the two of them disappeared somewhere on the ship.

Everyone had separated to their own little parts of the ship and Claire was looking for a certain man in red. She found him outside, gazing over the land as they made their way to Junon to get the last Large Materia. As they just stood there in silence, Claire had been trying to figure out what to say to him but nothing came to her mind. Now she felt like an idiot as she stood there, doing her best not to stare at the man beside her. She thought for sure that she would be able to talk to him, to ask him about everything. This man had been in her dreams since she was a child and she had finally released him from that room! She had tons of questions that she had been sure to ask him about but they just didn't seem to want to come out of her mouth around him.

Around Vincent, Claire just found herself wanting to only stare at him. He was nothing like anyone she knew; he was different from everything that she had ever known and she was finally coming to terms as to why. She had fallen for him.

Come on, when a guy's been in your head since you were 6 it's kinda hard not to. (XD) And now that she could actually talk to him she really started to fall. His voice…it was better than she had expected it to be.

"She does look like me."

Claire glanced at the man beside her, surprised that Vincent had been the one to start the talking this time. "Who does?"

"Sienna," Vincent answered her. "My daughter looks just like me."

"Sienna's…Sienna's your daughter!" Claire screeched out in shock and fear. If Vincent had a daughter that meant…

"You can call her that," Vincent continued to stare out over the land. "According to those books that Jeanne let me read, after the experiments were performed on me, my blood was used to create Sienna. That makes her my daughter, in some, strange way."

Now that she thought about it, Sienna did look like Vincent. A lot. That gave Claire a sigh of relief but at the same time she was still nervous. "Are you going to be able to fight her?" She asked him.

He gave a sound that sort of sounded like a snort. "I don't know her so therefore it doesn't bother me at all."

"How can you say that?" Claire demanded. Vincent looked at her with a slight look of surprise. "I know that you've never met Sienna but before all of this happened, she was a hero to everyone! She stopped the war with Wutai! She would help the children! She took Jeanne and Jena in off the streets of Junon! And just knowing that she is in anyway related to you, how can you willingly just say that 'you don't care'?"

Vincent stared at her in silence for a few moments before his look returned to normal and he turned from her again. Claire looked at him for a moment before crossing her arms. "It's funny…I thought that you would be a different person when I struggled to set you free. I thought that you would have been someone a much more…heroic, I suppose. But, I suppose when you see someone in your head when you're a child they're all heroes to you." She turned to leave, a picture of Sienna in her head. "Until you actually meet them, anyway."

_**~I **__**found a loop hole for us now  
>It's called redemption of my history<br>Do you think you could look past my fears  
>Tell me now my love<br>Because I will lose it in your eyes, I see firelight in your eyes  
>I know that things will be better when you are by my side<br>By my side...~**_

"**Why didn't you tell me?" **

Jeanne lifted her head at the sound of the voice and turned from the window. Cloud was standing in her doorway, closing the door with a foul look on his face. She sighed, stuffing Sienna's Medallion back under her shirt. She knew the questions were coming. Now she had no way to hide the answers and no way to dodge them. "What do you want me to tell you, Cloud? I did what I did and there's no way that I can change it. I doubt you would have believed me even if I had told you everything from the beginning."

"You're not the same as when I first met you all those years ago. You've changed." Cloud's words were like a strike against her and it made her anger rise.

She whirled around and faced him. "Of course I've changed! Everyone I loved is now gone! Sienna and Sephiroth are the enemy. Jena's another. Angeal…I had to kill both him and Genesis! And Zack…Zack's gone now too! I couldn't save him! And you know what? You're not the same either, Cloud! What happened to the Cloud that Zack and I would always hang out with and laugh with us? Claire's just the same as she once was, but you're not!" Jeanne moved from the window and grabbed her coat from the bed. "Judge me in whatever way you see fit, Cloud, but I believe I did nothing wrong! I did what I thought was right and I wouldn't change it even if I could." She came to a stop as she pulled her jacket on. "All of this keeps happening everything that woman is brought into my life. First with Zack, and now with you! None of it started without Aerith!"

That boiled Cloud's attitude as well; in both ways. "Dammit Jeanne! Why can't you move on? Zack is dead! He's dead and he's not coming back!"

"How can you say that? He was out friend, Cloud! He was more than a friend to me! I…I loved him! I loved him and I couldn't stop him from dying! You were there that night!"

Cloud winced as he remembered Zack's back leaving him as he reached out for it, and then at his mangled body full of bullet holes as he laid there on that cliff near Midgar. "I…I know that…and I know that I couldn't do anything either! I just…" Cloud closed his eyes as he tried to fight the tears off. "And I couldn't do anything to save Aerith, either! I was standing right there and I couldn't do anything! It's all my fault! What if the same thing happens to my sister? To Tifa? Or the others? Or to…to you? What if I can't save you, too?"

Jeanne felt her anger slowly fade away. Cloud didn't need fighting right now, and neither did she. Not at this moment. She moved forward and carefully wrapped her arms around him. The two of them stood there in silence for a little while. All of this was coming to an end. Soon the world would be back to normal, but never for Jeanne and Cloud. Both knew that the other would be left feeling the way they did now and nothing could possibly make that go away. But maybe…just maybe, the two of them could find a way of release together.

**Oh God! We're almost over! God, I wanna start from the beginning so bad! Don't worry though, we're nowhere near being done just yet! There's still more to come! **

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	39. Chapter 36

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**This is a Christmas Present for my new FanFic-Sister MoonDancer89!**

**Merry Christmas to all of you!**

**Chapter Thirty-Six**

**Underwater Adventures**

"**Jeanne, who are we waiting for?" **

The woman in question turned to the blonde behind her. "Be patient, Claire. She'll be here soon."

"She?" Zeke pondered aloud.

The group had hidden their ship and were just outside of Junon, waiting due ti a phone call that Jeanne had received the night before.

"Who cares?" Zeke crossed his arms. "What I want to know is who is going on this mission to get this Materia besides Jeanne."

"Well, I'd rather stay on the ship and catch up on some sleep and reading before doing another mission, if you don't mind." Renee admitted as she covered a yawn.

"Me too!" Yuffie grinned, jumping on her aunt.

"I don't mind saying with the ship, either." Barret crossed his arms. "I need to call Marlene."

"Me neither." Cait Sith told them and Red Xlll nodded in agreement.

"Well, I want to go," Myra told them. "And I will be."

"Same here." Cid told Jeanne.

"I wanna go too." Tifa wore a firm face.

So, in the end, the team going turned end out to be Jeanne, Myra, Cloud, Tifa, Zeke, and Cid as they continued to wait.

"Jeanne," A soft voice made them all turn to see Jena standing before them. Cloud was about to say something but he noticed that she looked different.

Jena was no longer dressed in the common, Turk suit. The elder Rush sister had hair was loose on her waist as she wore a red and white leather, her sais on either thigh.

Jeanne and she sister gazed at the others for a second before Jeanne moved forward and hugged her sister.

"Whoa, what's going on here?" Zeke demanded. "No offense, but this is one of the enemy, aren't you? You're with the Turks!"

"Not any longer," Jena shook her head.

"Finally got tired of the Turks, did you?" Myra asked.

"No, I got tired of letting my sister do everything," The woman's voice was like ice. "Come on, let's hurry up and get the last Huge Materia."

Jeanne hid a smirk before they all followed her sister into the city, leving the others with the ship.

Jena easily talked the guard out of the way of the elevator and the seven of them spaced out across the platform as it took them up. Zeke was so surprised that they were slipping past all the guards. It seemed that he wasn't the only one as Cloud stopped moving and turned to the others as they also stopped.

"I may be mistaken, but…doesn't it feel like we're missing something?" He asked them.

"I feel it too, but what is it?" Jeanne asked herself.

"I'm not sure," Myra shook her head. "But I'm sure that it'll come to us in time."

"I agree," Tifa nodded. "So let's just hurry up and go.

No one noticed them at all as they passed. Zeke and Tifa started cracking joke about ShinRa and still nothing happened. This mission was going to be one of the easiest ones on the planet and that pleased all of them, but Cloud had a feeling that it was going to be too good to be true.

As they got onto the elevator to get to the Underwater Reactor they had to split the team into two different groups. Jeanne, Jena, Cloud, and Myra were the first to go down. They were joined by two Infantrymen fighting over who was going to take the redhead out. They seemed to notice that Cloud and them were intruders so they were going to fight them. Myra didn't have the patience for this and so the two boys were easily taken down as the elevator made its path.

Along the underwater path they were attacked several times by creatures and Infantrymen but none of them were a problem. None of them took a second look at Jena so they were sure nothing was going to happen but they all knew that they were going to run into a Turk or someone who did recognize Jena sooner or later. They were just going to have to deal with that when it happened.

Tifa was so pleased to see all the fish and turtles traveling above them through the glass. "It's so peaceful," She sighed. "They have no idea what going on around them. They're…they're so lucky." She sighed. Zeke stared at her for a moment before wrapping an arm around her shoulders as they continued to walk. Tifa smiled at the man beside her before she laced her fingers through his. Zeke looked surprised for a moment but it faded into a smile of his own. Cloud watched them for a moment before glancing at Jeanne. He wanted to grab her hand now but there was no way in hell that he was going to be doing that during a mission. Besides, would Jeanne mind? Would Jeanne enjoy it? Would she smile like Tifa did or would she just brush him away?

~Women are so difficult to understand~ Cloud sighed as they reached the end of the walkway.

The underwater elevator was a bright blue and quiet as Jena turned to the others with her. "I don't know who's on the other side, but be ready in case, understand?"

"Lady," Cid pulled his cigarette outta his mouth. "I was born ready."

Jena smirked at him and Myra sighed. "You're all just pains." She told them.

"You get used to all of them after a while," Jeanne told her.

Exiting the elevator they ran down the large bridge and around a corner. It was then that the intruders were finally seen.  
>"You are NOT getting this Huge Materia!" An Infantryman yelled as three attacked them. Jena kicked them all out of the way in seconds before just continuing on the way.<p>

"Holy shit!" Zeke's mouth dropped open as he and Tifa still held hands. "You're sister's badder than you are!" He told Jeanne. He then looked very longing. "Which one of you is stronger, though?"

"Something tells me that we'll never know the answer to that question," Tifa told the man beside her.

"One can dream though, can't he?" Zeke sighed, hanging his head.

"That's all you can do, bub." Cid told the man with a smirk on his face. "You ain't good enough to do nothing else."

"Stop teasing him now guys." Tifa told them as the pounced upon a huge machine on the other side of the railings of the bridge they were walking on. They watched as the huge Materia was grabbed out of the machine and left the room in the machines hand.

"Dammit! We were late!" Myra cursed.

"That's what you think!" Cid growled, shoving his way past them all and heading through the door.

They all followed him into the next room just to find Reno and Liana standing before a large, red submarine. Zeke was expecting Jena to jump behind them all and hide from her former partners but she stood in the front of the group with Jeanne, her head held high. This woman was just something else.

They watched as the Huge Materia was placed in the submarine and the two Turks turned to face them.

"Jena," Reno looked furious. "What are you doing? Why are you doing this?"

Jena closed her eyes. "We're here for the Huge Materia, Turk. Give it up without a fight or are you going to make us take it by force?"

Liana gave a smirk. "My apologies, but we don't have time to deal with you fools." She turned to Reno. "Let's go."

Reno gave Jena another look before looking at Myra as a large Robot stomped towards them. "Our priority is the Huge Materia!" the redhead growled before the two of them ran off as the robot attacked. Jena watched after them, sharing a glance with Liana. She lifted a hand at the blue-haired woman who gave her a nod before they disappeared from the room. Liana still didn't see Jena as an enemy now. Jena was relieved.

"What should we name this bitch?" Zeke asked, looking at the robot that towered over them. "Where's that pain in the ass sister of yours when you need her?" He asked Cloud.

Gunshots were fired from behind them as a figure flew over them, taking their sword and chopping the robot's head off. "Right here, jerk-wad."

Claire landed before the group as the robot fell behind her, shouldering the blade as Vincent reloaded his gun as he moved up beside them himself.

"What are the two of you doing here?" Jeanne asked them.

"Eh, I got tired of waiting on the ship," Claire answered her with a shrug. "And he wouldn't let me come by myself. The others are still on the ship, waiting though."

Jeanne shook her head. "Claire," She sighed. "You never stay behind, do you?"

"After being stuck in Mako addiction for as long as we were? Hell no!" Claire growled as the red submarine behind her began to disappear. "Besides, none of ya'll can do this without me!" She glanced at Vincent and flushed. "Without us, I mean."

"Fine," Jena closed her eyes. "It's not like we can just tell you to go back to the ship anyway." Claire grinned and opened her mouth to reply but-

"Damn! The submarine!" Cloud cursed, realizing what the movement behind his sister was.

"There's another one," Jena told him, glancing across the water towards a grey one that more men were piling into. They knew that they were coming and were going to hold them off but they were no match to Jeanne and the others and fell almost instantly. Jena began to set everything up. It felt awkward in the submarine, the way it bobbed as it lowered into the water. It was a lot different from being on a normal boat.

"Someone…please. I'm sorry I can't take it anymore." Cloud groaned. "The lack of space, the shaking, the roar of the engine." Jeanne slapped a hand to her face as everyone but herself, Jena, and Vincent complained about something. Vincent stayed silent before moving forward to the dashboard and pressing buttons.

"I'm not very mechanical," Vincent told them as lights went off. "But it seems like we're starting to move."

"Yeah, now just sit back," Jena took the head seat and grabbed the controls. "Zeke, you Cid and Vincent take control of the firing machines. We have to shoot the other submarine down to get the Materia and I swear to god if you miss-"

"Yeah, yeah, we got it." Zeke smirked before dropping into the seat beside the woman as Cid and Cloud followed him.

"What would you like for me to do?" Jeanne asked her.

Jena looked at her sister. "You've done enough on your own. Let me take care of this one." Jeanne was silent for a moment before nodding.

With Jena driving and the three men aiming, especially Vincent himself since he used his own gun and knew how to aim, the other submarine was down a whole hell of a lot faster that they all thought that it was going to be. Myra was impressed with Jeanne's sister. Everyone seemed to be and were all glad that she was now on their side.

"Phew! We did it!" Cloud sighed in relief as Jena brought the machine to a slow movement as the radio suddenly went off. Jena kept her cool and answered it, receiving orders to return to Junon Dock. Of course they didn't follow those orders and instead searched for the red sub they had shot down to retrieve the news on the Huge Materia. The Materia didn't seem to have any problem but at the same time it was regained by ShinRa and taken to the airport. They had arrived to the dock in time to see the aircraft with the Materia take off with it.

"Dammit." Myra kicked at the ground.

"Where could they be going?" Tifa wondered, staring off after the ship.

"To Rocket Town," Jena answered them.

"Why would they be going there?" Cid asked her.

"To use the Rocket. They're loading the Huge Materia in it to fire it into the Meteor."

Jeanne turned as the sun began to set. "Then it's back to Rocket Town."

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	40. Chapter 37

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Chapter Thirty-Seven**

**Return to Rocket Town**

**The entire town was gathered around the rocket, as well as ShinRa employees. **Cid, Renee, Cloud, and Jeanne were the only ones running in; they had to keep the pack small so be kept from being seen.

"So, any idea on what we're going to do from here?" Cloud looked at Jeanne.

"We're going to beat the hell out of these idiots, that's what we're doing." Cid replied before taking off at the three infantrymen that stood at the bottom of the steps. They were quickly noticed.

"Those terrorists are here!" The Infantryman cried.

"Where?" Renee looked around rapidly. She then turned back and smirked as Jeanne jumped over her head, slamming her foot into the man's face as Cloud and Cid took care of the other ones.

"Come on," Cid growled, running up the stairs. He was furious that they were messing with his rocket, Renee following behind him. Cloud and Jeanne looked at each other for a moment before they both shrugged and went after them again.

"Don't let them get any further! Everyone, ATTACK!" the man in red screamed when he found them. Cid and Renee were pissed though so they four of them were easily taken down quickly.

"Goddammit! What the hell do they think they're gonna do with my rocket?" The elder man growled.

"Come on, Cid," Renee jumped onto the ladder. "Let's go kick them out!" The man stared after the woman for a moment before jumping onto the ladder behind her and racing up after her. Cloud and Jeanne shared another look before taking right off after them.

Rude, Liana, and a few others were waiting on them at the top. "You again?" The man frowned as he took a step forward. "We will eliminate everyone who gets in ShinRa's way." Jeanne and cloud didn't have time to do anything before Cid and Renee had taken down the Infantrymen, leaving just the two Turks standing. Believe it or not, Cid and Renee's anger seemed to make them stronger, Cid knocking the male Turk down with a bloody nose in only seconds. Renee grabbed her hammer and was about to deal another blow but -

"Rude! No!" Liana jumped in front of the man, ready to take Renee's swing but he grabbed her and jumped back, landing on his knees as he held her still. "They got us…" He huffed, letting go of Liana and falling backwards. "Let's go."

"But-" Liana took a look at his face and hung her head before he jumped off the bridge with her still in his arms.

"Remind me never to piss the two of you off," Jeanne smiled as they moved in through the doorway.

Never, EVER, mess with the rocket of Cid Highwind and Renee Sivil.

"You…You!" The man in red cried when he turned to see them in the doorway. "Why are you here? Rude and Liana of the Turks should've been here!"

"Too bad. Those guys are over there." Cloud shoved a thumb over his shoulder.

"Oh man…the Turks, being done in like that…" He shook his head. "But, I won't let you through!" He ran forward to attack but Jeanne lifted a foot and slammed it into his face.

"Let's hurry this up," She told the three behind her. They all nodded and hurried past her and into the other room. This was the pilot room, and three of Cid's men were there, messing with the controls.

"Hey!" Cid looked surprised himself. "What the hell're you guys doing'!"

"Just when I thought somethin' was goin' on, the two of you come back," One of the men sighed.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Renee growled.

"Listen," Another of them took a step forward. "We're gonna launch this rocket! We're gonna load a Materia bomb in this and blow up Meteor."

"Our rocket's gonna save the planet!"

"Wait a minute," Cloud took a step forward.

"Just shut the hell up!" Cid yelled at the blond behind him. He turned back to the men as Jeanne and Cloud exchanged a glance while Renee stayed silent. "How's the rocket?"

"It's pretty much OK."

"But…"

"We planned to run it into Meteor on Auto-Pilot, but the most important device is broken."

"Broken?" Renee took a step forward this time. "How so? And the repair?"

"We're not sure how it broke, but Shera's doing the repair."

"Oh great!" Cid growled. "What a buncha wizards you guys are! She's gonna take a hundred years!" He sighed. "I'll take over, so don't worry about the Auto-Pilot! Go tell the others."

"All right, Captain. Good Luck." The three men ran off leaving the four of them in the room.

"What do you plan on doing?" Jeanne asked the man.

"There are generations of knowledge and wisdom inside the Materia," Cloud told him. "We're gonna borrow their powers and save the planet from Sephiroth. There's no way that we can lose the Huge Materia. You understand that, right?"

"Yeah, I understand." Cid looked away. "I understand that Materia is precious and I also understand what you're thinking. But listen." He turned back to him. "I don't give a rat's ass whether t's science or magical power. I guess if I had to choose, I'd rather put my money on the power of science. Humans who used to only roam around on the ground are able to fly now! And finally we're able to go out into Outer Space. Science is a power created and developed by humans. And science just might be what saves this planet. I was able to earn my living thanks to science. So to me, there's nothing greater! Now quit your worrying 'bout what ShinRa's gonna do! I don't want to regret not having done something later."

"But, Cid-"

"All right," Jeanne's voice cut Cloud off as her hand landed on his shoulder. "I trust you know what you're doing."

Cid turned to Jeanne with a smile on his face before he turned to the intercom. "Alright, time to get to work! Anyone who ain't involved, get the hell outta here!" He was caught off when the Rocket began to shake. "What the hell happened!"

"_Hey-hey!"_ A voice began to sound from the radio.

"Palmer," Jeanne growled, recognizing that voice immediately.

"Palmer!" Cid growled into the radio. "What the hell did you do?"

"_They said they finished repairing the Auto-Pilot. So, I launched it!"_

"Goddamn Shera!" Cid growled. "Why'd she pick today to get fast!"

"Don't get mad at her," Renee moved forward to try and mess with the controls. "Damn, they won't move! The Bastards locked them!"

"_Hey-hey-hey! Almost lift off!" _Palmer cried.

"What the? No countdown! It just doesn't seem the same without it!" Cid cried.

"_Hey!Hey-hey! Blast off!_" Palmer said happily.

Cid immediately placed himself behind Renee, pinning her between him and the controls and hung on as the ship took off. Cloud grabbed the chair in front of him as Jeanne grabbed a bar on the wall beside her. Renee's face immediately heated up as she lowered her face so the man behind her couldn't see it. This was the time that she had been waiting for, for years. She had sworn to herself that she was never going to tell Cid how she felt about him until she achieved sending him into space. And now that time had finally come. Could she do it, though?

"I finally made it…outer space…" Cid backed away from Renee, releasing her from the controls. "Let's see, how's the course set?" Renee moved out of the way with her face turned, hiding her blush as he did his work. "Yup, it's headed for a collision with Meteor. And Palmer went outta his way to lock the Auto-Pilot device. We might not be able to change the course."

"Oh great," Jeanne pinched the bridge of her nose. "Your Rocket has escape pods, doesn't it?"

"Of course it does," Renee assured the woman. "Don't fear."

"That's right. Don't give up so easily!" Cid told them. "I deciphered the lock code on the Escape Pod. We'll bail right before we crash into Meteor."

"Now what should we do with the Huge Materia?" Cloud wondered aloud.

"Grab it if you want it," Cid told them. "It should be right above the ladder."

"You sure?" Cloud asked them.

"Why should we care?" Renee asked. "That has nothing to do with us."

"I just wanted to get into Outer Space," Cid told them. "So, why don't you all do whatever you think is right?"

Cloud gave a nod before turning and heading up the ladder. Everyone else followed him. As they stood in the large room staring at the pillar in the middle of it, Cloud's mouth fell open. "I finally found the Huge Materia."

"It's structured so that the lock can be opened if we enter the passcode from this control panel." Renee announced after she had knelt down and took a look at the panel. "Give me a few seconds and I can figure it out."

And that's how long it took. Just a few seconds and they all heard a small 'pop' and a sigh of victory.

"And there we go." Renee grinned as she stood up. The small glass door opened and Jeanne grabbed the Materia. "Now let's grab Shera and get the hell outta here!"

Everyone hurried down below to lower decks to head towards the Escape Pod when one of the oxygen tanks exploded. Cid let out a groan as Renee pushed herself into a sitting position.

"Oh god," She groaned. "Did anyone get the number of that bus?" Jeanne stifled a laugh, rubbing her eyes as they all tried to knock the sparklies out of their eyes. When Renee regained her sight she gave a horrified sound. Cid was pinned under a large chunk of metal. "Cid!" she crawled over to him immediately.

"Damn!" the man cursed. "My leg's stuck in the debris…"

"Cid," All three of them were looming over him. The blond looked at Jeanne. "What do we do?"

"Move it. What else do you think?" Jeanne replied. The three of them tried to lift it, but it didn't want to move. "Dammit!"

This were silent for a moment. "Don't worry about me." Cid then said. "Hurry up and go! If you don't hurry, the rocket's gonna crash into Meteor!"

"What?" Jeanne sounded shocked.

"I can't go without my friends." Cloud shook his head.

"Shut up, dumbass!" Renee growled. "I ain't leaving you here."

"You ^&*$%#! This is no time to worry about other people!" Cid told them, trying to shove Renee away from he couldn't do much.

"I'm going to do whatever I can." Cloud replied.

"Right, so just sit there, shut up, and try to push up with your arms while moving your legs out from beneath it."

"You're stupid." Cid told them, shaking his head as he stopped arguing. "All of you are really &*%^#$ stupid." He then leaned his head back. "Tank Number 8 blew up…So Tank Number 8…really was malfunctioning…"

"That's right," Renee told him. "So when we get back down to Earth, you can apologize to Shera all you want."

"Wasn't she supposed to be on the ship, fixing something?" Jeanne asked but Cid didn't hear her.

"But…this is the end for me," Cid sighed.

"Don't say that, Cid." A voice joined them. They glanced over Jeanne's shoulder to see the one and only Shera standing behind her.

"Told ya." Jeanne grinned.

"I tagged along," Shera said. "I'm coming to help you."

Cid let out another sling of curses as Shera stood beside Jeanne and began to help lift the large, metal plate that was pinning the pilot to the floor. The four of them gathered to Cid as close as they could and were able to lift the plate enough to where he could move his legs out from beneath it and stand. His right leg as hurt though and as he stepped on it, it resulted in a slew of curses.

"Here," Renee grabbed his arm and pulled it over her shoulders before wrapping her other arm around his hips. "Let's get you to the escape pod and off the leg."

"Are you going to be all right?" Jeanne asked him.

"Of course," Cid replied as he hobbled off with Renee.

They didn't waste any more time and took off towards the escape pod, Cid limping as Renee still held onto him.

"Hurry and get inside so I can detach it." Shera told them.

"Does this Pod really fly?" Cid asked, wincing as he stepped on his right leg wrong.

"It'll be okay. Renee and I have been checking it till now." Shera answered him.

Cid scratched the back of his head. "Then I'm relieved."

Shera flushed, happy that he was finally (sorta) complimenting her instead of screaming at her. "Thanks, but…" She looked at Renee. "It's really Renee that you should be talking to, not me."

"Huh?"

Renee was shaking her head, pleading with her friend to be quiet but Shera wasn't going to. "Renee, now's your chance; now or never, my friend."

Jeanne seemed to get what was going on and shoved the interested Cloud into the Escape Pod before the two women followed after him, leaving Renee and Cid in the hatch.

"What are they talking about, Renee?" Cid sounded so confused. The woman closed her eyes as she struggled with herself. There was no way that she was going to get out of it now. If she didn't tell Cid everything now, Shera would the moment they entered the Escape Pod.

"When we first met…first started the Rocket plan, you quickly became my best friend. Over time, we moved into the same house as roommates but…to me…it all became something…something more." She kept her eyes squeezed shut as she spoke. Cid stayed silent as he still hung on her. "Something so much more than just friendship. I…I wanted to tell you everything…everything that I felt for you the day you were going to be sent up into space. I was going to tell you everything when you returned to us, but when the flight was canceled, I grew afraid. So, instead of telling you, I decided to wait again. I was going to do everything that I could to get you up into space before I told you everything. I've been waiting for years now and I would wait until the end of my life if it took that long to get you into space. To get you where you wanted to be."

"Well, we made it our here, didn't we? Not stop talking in riddles, dammit!"

~here you go, Yuie~ She told herself. ~Let's get this over with. It's now or never. Go for it, baby!~

"The truth is, Cid…Over all this time…I've…I've fallen for you." She mumbled.

"What?" Cid asked, leaning down closer to get a better hear.

"I LOVE YOU!" She cried, hanging her head and squeezing her eyes shut. She was waiting for his reply of 'I lover Shera' or 'I don't feel the same' or for him to just pull away. Instead all she got in return was laughter. That hurt worse than anything she had been expecting. "What the hell's so funny?" She demanded, glaring at him.

Cid wiped a tear from his eye as she turned to star down at the woman. "Is that all? Is that what this has all been about? Is this a joke?"

Renee felt her heart crumbling. She knew that this wasn't going to work. She shouldn't have gotten her hopes up. "Yeah, it was just a joke, Cid," she tried to keep her voice normal. "Me and Shera were just trying to pull a joke on you. Come on, let's get back before the Rocket hit's the Meteor." She tried to pull him towards the door the others were behind but Cid didn't move.

"Well, that's too bad. Because if it was a joke then I'd never get to do this." Cid grabbed her face, turning it back to him, before placing a kiss on her lips. Things were silent for a moment and in her head, Renee began to curse at herself. ~This is what you wanted, right? Well, here's your chance!~

His arm fell from her shoulders to the middle of her back as the other went to her hips. It took her a second or two to return the favor. Renee felt her knees wobble but his hands held her up straight as they continued.

When they parted, Cid placed his forehead against her's. "Why didn't you say something sooner? Do you know how much of an idiot I felt like while lying next to you in your bed at night?"

"Well if I had known-" Renee froze and pulled her head back with a look on her face. "What do you mean 'while lying next to me'?"

"Oh, nothing." Cid scratched his nose nervously.

"Cid Highwind!" She growled. "Just what have you been doing to me in my sleep?"

"Nothin', nothin', I swear! Don't you believe me?" He asked her, throwing his hands up in the air in defense. "I just like to watch you sleep, is all."

"Yeah, I would have believed you before but now that I know you're in MY BED at night, I-" She was cut off when Cid kissed her again. She rolled her eyes and kissed him back.

~I'll forgive you this time, Cid~

Renee's face was still hot as she and Cid joined the others in the Escape Pod but she was glad that Jeanne was keeping cloud from asking questions she knew the blond was going to ask. Jeanne knew what had happened though, so she didn't need to ask. The moment they were in their seats, Shera pushed the Escape Pod away from the Rocket. It felt strange. One minute they were being shot through space and then the next they were falling back towards the Planet.

"So this is…outer space…" Cid said in wonder as he gazed out the window. "Man…it's the real thing…I'm really here in outer space…" Renee took a quick look herself. "So long, ShinRa No. 26…" Cid gazed after the ship as they got further from it.

They didn't have time to watch the rocket have no effect on Meteor because the moment they hit the atmosphere, the gravity began to drag the Escape pod down with an amazing force. Renee grabbed onto Cid as Shera jumped on Cloud, all four of them screaming for their lives as they came closer and closer to the Planet. Jeanne just watched them for a moment before rolling her eyes and crossing her arms as the Pod landed in the Ocean.

~Idiots~

_**~We don't belong**_

_**We don't belong, belong, belong**_

_**To anyone~**_

"**The Plan was a failure,"** Jeanne shook her head as they stared out the large window of the aircraft again. "And whether or not it was because they didn't have the large Materia inside the rocket we'll never know."

"What a bust," Barret sighed. "But I kinda hoped it'd work."

"We been botherin' them as much as we can…" Cait Sith hung his head from his place in Claire's lap as she sat on the floor. "But there ain't no other way…Wonder if we've been wrong all this time?"

Red Xlll shook his head. "Makes you worry, doesn't it?"

"Don't worry!" Tifa insisted. "Think!"

"Tifa's right," Zeke nodded. "If you start worrying then you won't be able to stop. It'll just get worse after that."

"You're pretty damn optimistic! You up to something?" Barret demanded, giving him a look.

"No, not until I can get off this ship and get a hotel room to myself, that is," He gave Tifa a 'certain' look. The woman glanced away, blushing as Jeanne and Claire both shook their heads.

"I've been thinking," Cid decided to join the conversation. "About this and that. All the time we've been up here lookin' at the planet. Even while we were up there in the escape pod and then floating in the ocean, waiting for you guys to come and grab us."

"I believe that all of us have been thinking," Jena spoke from the railing beside her sister. "About the Planet, the ocean, even the universe."

"Thinking about," Claire began this time. "No matter what happens, it won't change a thing. It's too big."

"Maybe your right," Cid replied. "But I came up with something different. I always thought this planet was so huge. But lookin' at it from space, I realized it's so small. We're just floating in the dark. Kind of makes you feel powerless. On top of that, it's got Sephiroth and Sienna festering inside it like a sickness. That's why I say this planet's still a kid. A little kid sick and trembling in the middle of this huge universe."

"And someone's gotta protect it," Renee got what the man was saying.

Cid nodded at her with a smile. "Right. And that someone is us."

"Cid, that's beautiful." Tifa smiled at him.

"Yo! Cid! You even got to me!" Barret grinned as he slung an arm around the other man's shoulders. "So, now what? How're we gonna protect the planet from Meteor?"

Everyone stared at the elder man for a second. He glanced at them all before walking back over to his chair and sitting down, scratching the back of his head. "I'm still thinkin' about that."

"That's easy," Claire grinned, looking up again. "We just gotta defeat the sickness, right?"

"How?" Myra asked.

"That's a foolish question," Jena commented. "Sephiroth and Sienna are the problem. Their defeat is what will set everything back in order."

"Sephiroth and Sienna are the strongest beings on this planet," Jeanne spoke, eyes closed. "All of us, with the strength we have now, will never be able to touch the two of them. There's nothing that we can do at this moment."

"Huh!" Red Xlll's voice made them all turn to the talking animal, dragging their conversation from Sephiroth and Sienna. "Did you…hear something?" They all fell silent for a moment before that strange sound from Cosmo Canyon eater their ears.

"That's the Planet's scream," Tifa gasped. "Or Meteor…? It is this planet?"

"What are you talking about?" Jena asked, tilting her head at her sister.

"Yeah," Myra agreed.

"I'll explain everything later." Jeanne told the two of them.

"How do we know that this is really the planet's scream?" Cloud asked.

"Did you forget?" Zeke asked him. "That ole, Bugentaganna guy told us, remember?"

"Bugenhagen!" Red Xlll corrected him.

"Yeah, him!"

"Let's go see Grandfather!" The red beast told them. "To Cosmo Canyon! I'm sure he'll be able to tell us something that will be helpful!"

The man controlling the wheel of the aircraft turned to Jeanne. "To Cosmo Canyon?" He asked her.

She was silent for a moment before giving a nod. "To Cosmo Canyon."

**Whoo! Finally Cid and Renee have made 'the connection'. I just couldn't resist that little joke I put in there about Cid in her bed at night, lol.**

**Jena and Rufus have too, as well as Tifa and Zeke and there will be more for them. For all of them, anyway. All that I have to work with now are Cloud and Jeanne (boy are they a hard pair), Vincent and Claire (that's gonna take forever, XD), Liana and Rude, and get a little closer with Myra and Reno. I am so glad that there's a whole movie and another game that I can expand al that through as well, lol!**

**Sorry, I know it's been a little while since last update. I did a lot on the other stories, but the next chapter will be out this weekend, I promise. Almost done guys, all most done!**

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	41. Chapter 38

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Chapter Thirty-Eight**

**A Little Advice**

**The moment that they landed, Red Xlll was off the aircraft and running for home. **Some of them went off on their own, leaving Jena, Jeanne, Cloud, and Zeke to follow after the red beast to his grandfather's home. Bugen looked the same as the five of them entered the house. It seemed as though he was waiting on them in his little Orbit machine.

"I see that you have returned," Bugen hid a smile. "Are you in need of some help?"

"Yeah," Cloud nodded.

"What to do? Have you lost your way? When that happens we each have to take a good long look at ourselves. There's always something in the deepest reaches of our hearts." Jena raised an eyebrow as the man stared at her. "Something buried, or something forgotten. Remember it…Whatever that is, must certainly be what you are all looking for…"

"That's easy to say," Jeanne decided to speak. "But I can't remember a thing that I don't already know."

"Look harder!" Bugen told her before clearing his throat. "It must be there."

"This is no good," Zeke sighed. "Cloud you call the others in here too!" Cloud pulled out his phone and they only had to wait a few moments before all the others found themselves crammed up in Bugen's little Orbit Machine.

"Do you see it?" Bugen asked them. "What is it that you are searching for?"

"Nope. Not a thing." Cait Sith spoke from Claire's shoulders. "Naw. Can't come up with a thing."

"Me either! I don't get any of this!" Yuffie cried.

"I don't really see anything, neither." Renee said as a bright blush spread across her cheeks.

"I…I remember Aerith a lot." Cloud suddenly said. Jeanne's head lifted a bit at the name as Jena shot her sister a look. "No, not that. You haven't remembered. You haven't forgotten. That's not it. How would you say it…" Cloud thought for a moment. "Aerith was right there all along. Right by our side. She was so close, we couldn't see her. What Aerith did…The words she left behind…"

"That reminds me…I was the same." Tifa decided to speak.

"As was I." Red Xlll nodded.

"Me too…" Barret sighed.

"She told us," Claire spoke up. "She was the only one who could stop the Meteor."

"But Aerith is gone now," Myra reminded them, remembering the woman in pink that had been killed.

"Is it impossible for us to carry on…what Aerith tried to accomplish?" Red Xlll asked.

"We ain't no Ancients, if that's what ya mean." Barret replied.

"What, did that girl go off to that place?" Cid asked.

"That's it!" Cloud exclaimed as the Rush sister's stayed silent.

"What's it?" The elder blond growled.

"We don't know about it." Everyone looked at the young man like he was stupid.

"What the hell are you talking about, Cloud?" Claire asked her brother.

"What did Aerith know? Why did she face Sephiroth and Sienna without running away? And it wasn't because Jeanne was there!"

"I see…" Red Xlll caught on. "She returned there once again, correct?"

Jeanne closed her eyes, realizing that Cloud and the others were talking about the Ancient's last little village.

"Hmmm," Bugen smiled. "Perhaps I'll have you take me there."

"You're going too?" Red Xlll sounded surprised.

"What's so surprising about that?" The old man grinned. "Even I want to get out from time to time and see the outside world. I wonder what did it. I haven't felt like this in ages."

"It must be the planet. The planet is calling you!" The red beast sounded excited.

"Yeah, hoo boy, the planet calling…right." Renee swatted Cid in the back of the head and he rubbed it, giving her a sheepish look.

"Ho Ho Hoooo. Then let's go." Bugen sounded excited.

"Hold on a second," Jeanne stopped everyone before heading towards the door. "Can't this wait until morning. Would you all like to sleep in an actual bed and get some real food and rest before flying off somewhere again? Keep your feet on the ground for a little while?"

"That's not a bad idea, actually." Myra grinned before hooking her arms through Tifa's and Yuffie's. Yuffie grabbed her Aunt next. "All right ladies! Let's go get wasted!"

Zeke, Cid, and Barret all gave each other a look before the three of them hurriedly ran after the four women. Jena rolled her eyes before she and her sister walked after them and Vincent followed after them shortly. Claire, still holding the mechanical cat, went to follow them but paused when Cloud began to speak again.

"Oh yeah, Bugenhagen. I have one more thing I want to ask you. We're carrying around Huge Materia. This is pretty delicate stuff and we would like to keep it in a safe place. Any ideas?"

The old man laughed. "Then we'll put it upstairs." Claire smiled as the two of them continued to talk before leaving as well. She wanted something to drink badly. She watched as the others all headed towards the bar and sighed.

"What are the two of us going to do?" She asked the cat still sitting on her shoulders.

"What do you want to do?" Cait Sith replied.

"We'll, I'd like to go with the others but you can't drink so I'm not going to leave you by yourself. I can drink later. So, that leaves you. What does a mechanical cat like to do?"

Cait Sith, if he could, smiled.

_**~I'm so high. I can hear heaven  
>I'm so high. I can hear heaven<br>Oh but heaven, no heaven don't hear me~**_

**The night by the fire was peaceful. **Everyone in town was either home or at the bar, listening to Jeanne's group as they sang and danced and drank the night away. Jena had gone after them all to try and keep them under control but she didn't seem to be doing a good job of it. She seemed to be letting them have their fun. Jeanne was sitting by the fire, staring into the yellow and yellow flames trying to clear her mind. Nothing changed for a while until a man in red and black decided to join her.

"Is everything all right?" Vincent asked her after moments of silence.

"Yes," She replied softly. "Just thinking."

"…About Sienna?"

"Yes…among some other things." She closed her eyes.

Vincent stared at her for a moment before turning to the fire again. That day on the aircraft, when he and Claire had talked for a moment, her words kept coming back to his head.

_"I know that you've never met Sienna but before all of this happened, she was a hero to everyone! She stopped the war with Wutai! She would help the children! She took Jeanne and Jena in off the streets of Junon! And just knowing that she is in anyway related to you, how can you willingly just say that 'you don't care'?"_

"Sienna…" He began slowly. "She was your teacher, right?"

"She was much more than that." Jeanne answered him. "My sister and I were orphans, living on the streets of Junon. Sienna found us and gave us a home. She was our savior…our friend…our mother. She did everything for us." She opened her eyes. "And Sephiroth…he was a father to me. He'd always protect Sienna and I, no matter what."

Vincent stared at her again. "Will you be able to fight against them?"

Jeanne was silent for a moment. Vincent opened his mouth to repeat the question when she finally answered. "I…I'm not sure what I'll do when we finally face them. I'm going to do all that I can to try and convince them that this it not the way to go. I want them to stop all of this before…before they do something that I can't forgive them for." Vincent watched her in silence as her eyes began to water. "I don't want to fight them…but I know that I'll have too. I just…" She wrapped her arms around her legs for a moment. "I don't blame her…them. Sephiroth and Sienna both have rights to be furious with what was done to them! With everything that they did to them…they deserve the right to retaliate. I just wish…wish that it was just against ShinRa, not everyone."

Vincent felt strange. He didn't know how to react with the woman beside him. It was really strange that he was feeling this way in the first place; a strong connection to Jeanne. He had never truly really met Sienna, got to know her, but she was still technically his 'daughter' and these sisters…they were Sienna's 'daughters'. Did that make them his…? Everything was just making him feel old.

"In the books that I have," Jeanne began to speak again. "There was a woman by the name of Lucrecia mentions. She was apparently Sephiroth's birth mother…"

Vincent nodded. "She was a scientist that worked as my father's assistant. They were after a being called Chaos that in turn killed my father."

"Chaos?" Sienna wondered. A being named Chaos…where had she heard that before?

"Chaos is a being born of the dark memories and sins that tainted the Lifestream. Its purpose is to be the harbinger of death when life falls into strife and it allows the rest of the planet's Lifestream to be gathered to a new planet to continue the cycle of life. After my father's death, Lucrecia's work was seen as nonsense. She was then appointed working on the Jenova Project with Gast and Hojo."

"Sienna and Sephiroth."

"Yes. I was assigned to supervise the Project and eventually…"

"One thing led to another," Jeanne moved him along."

Vincent gave a small smile, pleased that she didn't want him to get deep into that part of the tale. "After that, everything fell apart when I found the reports on what she had done with my father. When I confronted her, she told me that she was responsible for his death. I…I never blamed her for it or held her responsible for it but it seemed that she did and ran to Hojo, marrying him eventually." Both of them growled at the man's name before giving a small smile to the other. "Sienna was a baby that Gast just brought in to do tests upon one day and Hojo soon got Lucrecia pregnant with Sephiroth. With the Jenova cells that Lucrecia was given, she would have visions of what her son would do in the future and her constant collapses in pain. I tried to convince Hojo to stop this when he shot me. I take it that that's when he began his tests on me. I'm not sure on how I'm still alive, but I know that it has something to do with Lucrecia. I…I just don't know where she is now."

"So, that explains why you're infatuated with this woman, still." Vincent turned his head towards Jeanne again.Added by SilverSummoner

"It's not like I can talk, though," She slapped a hand to her forehead. "I'm still obsessed with Zack. I want to get revenge for him, for all that was done to us, but…but I'm starting to see that…that I can't keep…doing this. I love Zack. I always will. There's never going to be anyone like him in my life; ever. But there's…Cloud means…" She sighed. "It's hard to explain." She looked back at Vincent. "You understand. You still love Lucrecia; I have no doubt about that. But in the end, no matter what you do, there will be another woman. You might not like it at first, but she'll be there for you until the end. The end…is just when you make it. You can either accept it and move on, or stay and grieve over the one you lost. I will always grieve and miss Zack but…but Cloud is there for me. He understands and he waited for me for three years. I'm not going to make him suffer any more because I can't let go. Zack, wherever he is now, I know he understands and I know that he accepts it," She felt the tears fall. "and when the three of us meet again, whatever happens then, will happen. And I will take what I have to. But for now," She wiped the tears away. "I'm going to live the way that I want to…and I will wait for Cloud to get over Aerith's death just as long as he had to wait for me." She lifted her face and locked eyes with Vincent. "Moving on is hard," She told him. "But in the end, you'll be glad that you did."

"I…" Vincent stood up. "I don't know if I can."

Jeanne gave him a little smile. "You'll know sooner or later. When you run into the one, you'll find yourself wanting to be around them more than anything and you will do all that you can for them. You just have to accept it before you can do anything else, Vincent."

The man nodded, not knowing what else to say, before he walked away, leaving the woman at the fire to her thoughts. Jeanne was…someone that he felt he could talk to about everything. He normally didn't like the thought of revealing himself to others but to her…she felt like…he didn't know how to explain it. And there was just one thing on his mind from her words. Who was he supposed to be looking for? Vincent gave a small grunt when something ran into her.

"You do know that getting lost in your thoughts while walking is a bad idea, right?" He tilted his head down to find Claire standing below him, hands on her hips with a frown on her face.

"What are you doing?" He asked her.

"Oh, I was just going to go for a walk. Cait Sith had to shut down for the night and all the others are at the bar still…I think." Claire took a breath, thinking for a moment. "What about you?" Vincent stayed silent for a moment before she grinned and grabbed his clawed hand. "You're coming with me. Maybe a walk with knock the dumb look off your face!"

Vincent was caught in surprise for a moment as the girl continued to drag him behind her from the city. He closed his eyes for a moment. ~Just accept it, huh?~ He asked himself. When he opened them again, he carefully pulled his hand from Claire's and began to walk beside her.

_**~And they say that a hero could save us.  
>I'm not gonna stand here and wait.<br>I'll hold on to the wings of the eagles.  
>Watch as we all fly away.~<strong>_

**Jeanne didn't like returning to the City of the Ancients. **Guilt flooded down on her from what happened last time they were here but she kept silent as she led the way though the broken homes and streets to their destination. Everyone else kept silent too but Claire and Vincent's silence were different than the others. Claire seemed extremely furious about something as a coldness flooded from her while Vincent was lost deep in his thoughts. Jeanne had watched the two of them leave the city the night before. As they arrived at their destination, she wondered just what had taken place.

Bugen froze when he saw the large, glowing crystal in the middle of the old, ruined area. "This is…yes…exactly…" He hurried over to the large pedestal it was on, his eyes wide.

"Are you getting something?" Cloud called to him.

"Give me a moment." He replied and the blond man followed after him as the others watched from the ledge. "The knowledge of the Ancients swirling around here is telling me one thing." Bugen continued. "The planet's in a crisis…a crisis beyond human power or endless time."

~Duh~ Zeke rolled his eyes. ~We already knew that, didn't we?~

"It says, when the time comes, we must search for 'Holy'."

"Holy?" Jeanne took a step closer. "Are you sure that's what it said?"

"Of course," Bugen nodded.

"Holy?" Cloud looked at her. "What is that?"

"The ultimate White Magic." Bugen answered him. "Magic that might stand against Meteor. Perhaps our last hope to save the planet from Meteor. If a soul seeking Holy reaches the planet, it will appear." He gave a laugh. "Meteor, Weapon, everything will disappear. Perhaps, even ourselves."

"Even us?" Claire demanded.

"It is up to the planet to decide." Bugen continued. "What is best for the planet. What is bad for the planet. All that I bad will disappear. That is all." He chuckled. "I wonder which we humans are."

"Search for Holy…how do we do it?" Cloud asked.

"Aerith had the White Materia," Jeanne spoke up. "When she died, it fell into the waters beneath the city. The pit is deep. Too deep for anyone to swim down there and grab it."

"This is the end," Cloud sighed.

"Shut up, Cloud," Claire called to her brother. "Now is not the time to be thinking like that."

"Indeed. Look at this," Bugen bent down to get a better look at the weird markings beneath the glowing stone. "Ancients' writing."

"Can you read it?" Zeke asked.

"I can't even make it out!" Bugen smiled.

Zeke hung his head. "This ain't the time for jokes."

"I'm not an Ancient. I can't read this thing! I may be old, but my eyes aren't completely bad yet. Look closely below the writing."

Cloud knelt down. "Key…in the music box?" He read.

"Some archeologist must have been here. I'm surprised he got any words," Myra spoke. "But key to what?"

"I don't know…but, it probably has something to do with our riddle which then has something to do with Aerith."

"What does it mean?" Claire wondered.

Bugen silently grabbed the key and floated over(I know! He FLOATS! Weird old man, lol)to the 'music box'. They all watched closely and silently as the key was placed. Water began to poor down and Cloud jumped back just in time to not get hit by it.

"Now, go inside," Bugen told Cloud. "Hope may be inside. Or…"

They all watched from either side of the screen of water the replaying of Aerith's death as Sephiroth's sword was shoved through her and then followed Holy as it fell from the platform and sunk into the water.

"Aerith had already prayed for Holy," Jeanne announced. "That's what she was doing when you all arrived."

"After I gave up the Black Materia," Cloud began. "Aerith's words came into my dreams…She said that she was the only one that could stop Sephiroth and Sienna. And to do that, there was a secret here…That was Holy. That's why, she had the White Materia. Aerith knew about here…and what she had to do. Aerith has left us great hope. But, it cost her her life…her future…" Cloud shook his head. "I'm sorry…Aerith. I should have figured this out sooner. You left us without saying a word…it was all so sudden, so I couldn't think. That's why it took so long…but Aerith, I understand now. I'll…I'll do the rest."

"You %*&^#!" Cid cursed at the blondie. "It's WE! WE!"

"The hope an important person left for us…We must make it stronger…" Vincent spoke.

"Yeah, we're all gonna do this, right Jeanne?" Claire turned to look at the woman behind her.

She was silent for a moment before she smiled and gave a nod. "Of course."

Cloud turned back to the replaying image on the water. "Thank you…Aerith."

"Her voice has already reached the planet," Jena decided to say. "You can tell by how the Materia is glowing. What I don't understand is why Holy isn't moving."

"Something is getting in its way," Bugen replied.

"Something tells me it's Sexy Goddess Sienna and her little follower," Zeke crossed his arms. "Only the two of them could be doing that." Jeanne couldn't help but snicker at that nickname. Zeke always called Sienna that.

"But where are they?" Claire wondered.

Jeanne closed her eyes. "I have an idea where."

Before anyone could move or ask a question, Jena's phone rang. She was silent for a moment, listening to everything that was being told to her. She gave a few replies before hanging up. "We got problems." She announced.

"What's going on?" Barret asked. "Who called?"

"Liana. The Junon Cannon has been moved to Midgar and Rufus plans on destroying Sephiroth and Sienna with it. The Cannon only works with the Huge Materia so they moved it to Midgar so Hojo could hook it up to his computers."

"Where are they going to get enough power for it?" Tifa demanded.

"It's Hojo," Claire growled. "He'd find a way with that stupid brain of his."

"Come on," Jeanne turned and immediately began to lead the way out of there. "We need to go stop them before they make things worse!"

As they all ran back to the aircraft, the ground began to shake.

"What the-!" Cloud grabbed his sister so she would fall over.

"Something tells me…that it's one of the Weapons." Jena was the first on the ship and had it lifting off as the doors closed behind the others.

"What is it?" Cid demanded the crew.

"It's a strange signal!" They replied.

"From where?" Tifa cried.

"It's coming from this…person?"

"As I said," Jena gripped the railings as she stared ahead of them. "Weapon."

The lights flickered on and off for a moment before the ship began to lower towards the water before everything went back to normal.

"All right," Zeke growled, turning to Cid. "Get this tin can under control."

"This ain't good," Cait called from Claire's shoulders. "Weapon came out of the sea and is heading straight for Midgar."

"The new weapon should stop him, right?" Cloud asked.

"I don't know if it's ready or not…" Cait shook his head.

"Hey! What's gonna happen to Marlene!" Barret demanded.

"Doncha worry none, Marlene's in a safe place. She's with Aerith's mama." The Cat replied.

As Cait Sith and Barret had their little argument, Jeanne turned to her sister. Her knuckles had grown white as she gripped to the railing. Jeanne closed her eyes and placed a hand on her shoulder. "He'll be all right, Jena."

Jena nodded at her sister appreciately. Rufus would be fine; just fine.

"Ok! Let's go!" Cloud said. "We'll beat Weapon ourselves!"

Cid scratched the back of his head. "Hey Cloud…you think we can win against that Monster? We got a chance of winnin', right?"

"How would I kn-" Cloud growled as Zeke slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Of course we do," Zeke grinned "That thing'll fall in no time at all. So hurry up and get us to Midgar!"

"All right, will do!" The man at the wheel sounded nervous before he took off past the Weapon as it started the long, slow track to Midgar. The had de-boared the ship and had to wait almost an hour before the creature finally stood over them on the beach.

Zeke's mouth fell open as they all gazed up at the Omega Weapon. "Holy sweet Mother of God I am outta here!" Zeke cried. He tried to run away but Yuffie and Claire grabbed him, pulling him back. "No! Let me go! I don't wanna die! I don't wanna die!"

"Shut up and just work, dammit!" Claire told the man beside her, giving him a swift kick in the rear and shoving him forward at the creature like the rest of them all ran at it.

Zeke quickly regained himself as he pulled out his lance before jumping at the creature with a growl, shoving the weapon into its leg as hard as he could. Nothing could really be noticed by their attacks to start with but eventually they were able to notice that their attacks were wearing the Weapon down. The creature's rage was rising as they continued to stab it, shoot hit, and whack it as they all climbed all over the large object.

"Jeanne!"  
>The Woman being called for halted in the process of stabbing Omega in the neck to see Renee jumping up towards her. Jeanne sheathed Genesis' sword and jumped down towards her face first. Renee held her hand out and Jeanne grabbed it before swinging the woman with the large hammer towards the head. Renee gripped her weapon fiercely as the wind hit her face on her way up to the face of Omega. She waited and then began to spin, adding some speed to her weapon before bringing it up to smash into the creature's face. Omega gave a roar as the woman landed on its shoulder.<p>

"Renee!" Cid cried up. "Get off of that thing! The Cannon's about to blow!" Renee took one look at the Cannon sticking out of Midgar as it started to power up and began to make her quick way down. ~God being raised as a ninja pays off.~ She laughed. Renee landed moments before Omega turned to leave.

"What's wrong?" Cid called after it. "It's like you're blowing us off!"

"No, it feels something," Jeanne replied, removing her hand from Genesis' sword.

"Yeah," Cloud nodded. "Murder."

"We should go back to the ship now." Vincent told them as Weapon walked into the water again.

"I agree." Cait Sith nodded and they all ran to the Ship.

Jena immediately ran to the rails and watched as the Cannon got ready. The green light burst from the pillars around the city. The Cannon sucked the light in before firing a large, blue ray at Omega. As it made its path to Omega, the creature began to fire its own attack back.

"Marlene!" Barret cried.

The blue ray hit Omega, knocking it hundreds of feet away on its back before continuing its path.

"They're after Sephiroth and Sienna," Myra announced, following the ray with her eyes. "It's headed for the northern Crater." They all watched as the barrier disintegrated. Sienna's name was caught in Jeanne's throat.

Jena wasn't worried about the blue ray. Instead she watched in horror as the machine began to falter after the blast's attack and it grew worse when Omega's attack hit home. It hit the tall building of ShinRa, exploding it all as the rest continued to rain down on the rest of Midgar.

"Rufus!" Jena screamed. She knew that if they were doing something like this, Rufus had to be in his office. He wouldn't be at his home during a time like this. Jena didn't wait she went to jump over the railing of the aircraft. She had to go-Jeanne grabbed her sister, holding her back. "No! Let me go! I have to go! I have to go make sure he's okay!" Jena pulled away from her sister. "I have to go! They're all there! Rufus! Reno! Liana! Tseng! I have to go save them! They have to be okay!"

Jeanne pulled a pained face. Tseng, Reno, and Rude were friends of hers still, believe it or not. They were just on opposite sides. Everything seemed to be falling apart. Jeanne would like to go and save them herself but…

"Go with her, Jeanne." The sisters looked at Claire in surprise. The blonde woman was smiling. "We'll head to the Northern Crater to see what happened. You and your sister go. We'll call you and tell you when we're coming back, all right?"

"Claire…" Jeanne was speechless for a moment. Cloud seemed to agree with his sister and gave the other woman a nod. Jeanne smiled. "All right. Be careful, you guys."

"No problem!" Zeke crossed his arms. "I'm here so they'll be just fine."

"I'll go with you guys." Myra joined in, stepping towards the sisters. "Just in case something happens. I know the two of you can take care of yourselves, but the more the merrier."

Jena didn't reply and just gave a nod before the three women jumped over the railing and took off towards Midgar. The others left all watched them for a second before Renee turned to her niece. "Yuffie, go with them."

"What? Why me?" The young ninja cried. "I'm not going anywhere!"

"But don't you want off the ship?" Zeke asked her.

"Yeah, but I'm not going into Midgar! What if that thing stands back up and attacks it again?"

Renee thought quickly before a great idea popped up in her head. "True, that could happen, but think about all the Materia that you'll get that's lying around in that ruined headquarters?"

It didn't take three seconds before the teenager was off the ship, running after the three other women.

"You are a genius," Red Xlll told the redhead beside him.

"I try." She grinned as she placed her hands on her hips. "Now if only I had thought to use that when she was younger then it would have been so much easier."

"Eh," Zeke shrugged his shoulders. "When she complains about not getting Materia now when they come back it's going to be all your fault."

Renee chuckled. "Oh, I'll find a way to calm her down; don't worry."

"Cait Sith, are you all right?" Claire had picked up the mechanical cat again but there was no reply from it. "Do…do you think Reeve is okay?" She asked the others.

"I'm pretty sure he is." Tifa nodded. "He just had to get out in time of the explosion so he wouldn't waste his time on grabbing his machine, you know?"

"Yeah…I hope so." She sighed.

"Now what do we do?" Vincent asked as they all headed up towards the top of the ship.

"We're gonna follow the Ray, of course." Cid answered him. "And find out what it hit."

"It hit the Northern Cave, I'm sure of it." Renee said. "It was headed into that direction.

"If it did hit the Crater…what happened to Sephiroth and Sienna?" Cloud asked.

"Let's go check it out." Barret replied.

**We're getting closer, we're getting closer!**

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	42. Chapter 39

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Chapter Thirty-Nine**

**Think About It**

"**Hey, what's wrong with you and Vincent?" **At the voice, Claire turned around to see Tifa and Renee standing behind her. The three of them were outside on the bottom of the aircraft. Clare had come out her to clear her thoughts but it wasn't working. Maybe talking would work better.

"Yeah, the two of you aren't side by side or talking, not like he talks too much, anyway," Renee watched as the woman held her right shoulder. She narrowed her eyes as she grabbed it and pulled her sleeve down. Her shoulder was firmly wrapped in gauze and she flinched as the older woman touched it.

"What happened?" Tifa demanded.

Claire pulled away from them and fell silent for a moment. "He…he attacked me…and now…he won't even look at me…"

Tifa opened her mouth to ask her what she meant but Renee grabbed her and turned her to face the two of them. "Tell us everything. Now, Claire."

_**~I see your dirty face  
>High behind your collar<br>What is done in vain  
>Truth is hard to swallow<br>So you pray to God  
>To justify the way you live a lie<br>Live a lie  
>Live a lie~<strong>_

"**Can you tell me why we did this again?"**

"Calm down Vincent!" Claire grinned from her seat at the controls. "It would be a lot funner if you calm down!"

Vincent tried to do so but he still felt a bit nervous. The two of them had hijacked the aircraft from Cid's men and gone to Junon where they had grabbed ahold of the submarine again. Vincent didn't know how a walk around the canyon where she grabbed his gun and tossed it down the canyon and him chasing it turned into a hijacking party but he wasn't going to argue with the woman. Although he would not admit it aloud, he was having a little bit of fun doing this with her.

"Now, let's see where our little friend has taken us, yes?" Claire stood up from her seat and headed towards the hatch to peer outside. The only light they had was from the top of the sub but it gave enough for the woman to see that they were in a small area with a waterfall. "Oh wow!" She giggled, hoping out. "Come check this out, Vince!" She hopped off of the sub to land as Vincent followed her, taking in his own look. "It's so pretty," The waterfall made Claire giggle again as she turned to the man behind her. "Let's make this our little 'Secret Spot', all right? No one else can know about this, okay?"

Vincent didn't reply, but just watched as she moved around the little crescent shaped chunk of land around the waterfall before walking right through the falling water and behind it. Alarm traveled through his head as he hurried after her. The water was freezing as he was drenched the moment he stepped through the waterfall. The cave was huge, the back half of it was underwater though.

There wasn't much inside of it except one thing in the middle of the area. It was a woman. A woman in a white dress.

"It can't be…" Vincent took a step forward, forgetting all about who he was with. "Lucrecia?"

Lucrecia…That name made Claire frown. She knew the story. Lucrecia was Sephiroth's mother…and the woman that Vincent had fallen in love with all those years ago. She suddenly felt like she shouldn't be there but her feet didn't want to move.

The woman lifted her head and turned to face the man in surprise. "Vincent?" She had long brown hair and eyes, dressed in a long, white dress.

"Lucrecia!" The man ran forward.

"Stay back!" the woman cried as a bright light flashed, halting the man in red.

Claire watched in surprise as the flash turned out to be flashes of Vincent's past running through her mind. Why she was a part of this, she had no idea.

_He had short hair and dressed as a Turk as he walked through Nibelheim with Lucrecia._

_They were at the front gates; Lucrecia pulled away from him and ran off._

_She was in Hojo's arms in what seemed to be moments later._

_**~If she was happy then…I didn't mind.~ Vincent's voice traveled through her mind. **_

"_I'm against it!" Vincent growled. He, Hojo, and Lucrecia were in the lab beneath Nibelheim. "Why experiment on people?"_

"_She and I are both Scientists," Hojo replied._

_**~After that, a child was born to Lucrecia and another was being held in a tube…Sephiroth and Sienna.~**_

_Vincent was arguing with Hojo again moments before he was shot._

_Hojo stood over Vincent's body on the lab table, doing things that Claire didn't want to think about._

_**~This body…is a punishment that's been given to me…I was unable to stop Professor Gast and Hojo…And Lucrecia…I couldn't stop them. All I could do was watch. That was my punishment.~**_

Claire rubbed her eyes. ShinRa had done a lot of things to a lot of people but Hojo…he was the worse of them all. He did experiments to a lot of people. She wouldn't be surprised if he eventually did some on himself.

(FYI, EPIC FORESHADOWING LOL)

"Lucrecia…you're alive…" Vincent couldn't believe it. This is the woman that he had been ashamed of not saving and now…she's been alive all this time…what was he supposed to do now? He went to take another step towards her but he caught himself, glancing at Claire. She wasn't looking at him; she was staring at the other woman with a strange look. Again…what was Vincent supposed to do? Why did he feel…worried?

"I wanted to disappear…I couldn't be with anyone…I wanted to die..." The woman sniffled. "But the Jenova inside me wouldn't let me die. Lately, I dream a lot about Sephiroth…my dear, dear child."

**~HE'S NOT YOUR CHILD!~ **A furious scream broke out in Claire's head. **~IF HE WAS, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE LET HOJO TAKE HIM AND RUN EXPERIMENTS ON HIM!~**

"Ever since he was born I never got to hold him…even once…not even once. You can't call me his mother…That…is my sin." Vincent took another step forward. "Back! Stay back!" she placed her face in her hands. "Vincent, won't you tell me…please?"

"Tell you what?" The man asked.

"If Sephiroth is still alive? And Sienna…is she…is she still with him? I heard they died 7 years ago…but I see him…them in my dreams so often…and I know that physically like myself, neither of them can die so easily. Please, Vincent, tell me…"

Vincent lowered his head. "Lucrecia…Sephiroth and Sienna are both dead." Claire raised an eyebrow, but she kept her mouth shut. Lucrecia was silent for a moment, letting the news settle in until she dropped to her knees, burying her face in her hands. She began to weep something about her child. Claire rubbed her arm, not sure if she should say anything when a presence decided to join them in the cave.

"How dare you," The voice was icy as all three turned to the water. Sienna stood on it, her hands in her pockets as she glared at the other woman. As she stepped across the top of the water it turned into ice, creating her a path across it. Sienna's glare was like ice itself and as she neared Lucretia closer, it made her back away. "After everything that happened to Sephiroth, you sit there and cry? You've been here for the last 37 years, wondering what has happened and still have the nerve to call yourself his mother?"

Claire watched in silence as Vincent pulled a clear, surprised look as he stared at the woman before them. Sienna…she truly did look like him. The silky black hair. Her skin. Her glare. Her voice even had a ring that sounded much like his. The structure of her face. He had accepted that what he had read was true but still, to see her this close…to actually see her face to face…it surprised him. There was no doubt about it now. Sienna truly was his daughter.

"I-I'm sorry!" Lucrecia tried to say but Sienna shook her head.

"Your apologies mean nothing!" The woman growled. "Jenova may keep you from dying from diseases and old age, but that doesn't mean she will keep me for killing you!" Vincent's body moved of his own, jumping between Lucrecia and the other woman but Sienna just grabbed him and tossed him aside like a ragdoll. Claire winced as the man him the wall, chipping some rocks and stones off of it. Lucrecia continued to back away from the other woman in fear. Claire wanted to move and do something but she couldn't move her body. No, she didn't want to move.

"I should just kill you now, but you would have learned nothing!" Sienna's voice had grown louder. Vincent rushed at her again but every time she just threw him off like a piece of trash, her eyes locked on the cowering woman before her. Finally, Vincent pulled out Cerberus to try and shoot her but Ice incased around her, bouncing the bullets back off at their shooter.

"Vincent!" Claire screamed and ran to him when a few of them hit him. At a scream, they both turned back to watch as Sienna's hand gripped Lucrecia's throat, lifting her up into the air. Vincent let out a yell as ice began to grow from the floor, encasing Lucrecia as Sienna glared at her.

"That's not ice," Claire whispered to herself as they woman struggled to break free but the struggle was futile. "That's crystal. Mako crystal."

"For seven years," Sienna removed her hand from her throat and stepped back. "For seven years Sephiroth has been in pain beyond belief, because of YOU. Because you did nothing. You could have stopped Hojo if you wanted to, you just refused to. Your nothing but a monster; just like him." She pulled a disgusted face at the woman as the crystal finished engulfing the woman. "The crystal will suck her life away…it will take years but she'll suffer through all of it…just like Sephiroth had to."

"No!" Vincent ignored his bleeding and ran at the crystal, banging on it and trying to break it but nothing worked. "No! Let her go!"

"And you two," Sienna ignored Vincent's cries. She opened her mouth to say something but then smirked, shaking her head. "I'll deal with the rest of you fools later." She turned to leave the cave but Vincent lunged at her, ordering her to free Lucrecia. Sienna wasn't taking it this time and out her blade came out just to be slid in through Vincent's stomach.

"Vincent!" Claire screamed. She watched as the man in red crumbled to the floor before glaring at the other woman before running at her herself.

Sienna didn't even bother looking at the other woman before knocking her away as she made her way towards the exit. She came to a halt though as a strange aura decided to join them. Sienna turned again with a smile on her face as she looked at Vincent. He was encased in a green light before it burst off of him, leaving his transformed state. Vincent now had leathery wings sprouting out his back with a large, red headdress-like object with scars running down the side of his face as his eyes glared a golden red. Claire halted herself, she knees shaking.

"Well, well, here's the little experiment that I've read about," Sienna chuckled as she stared at the man. "This is what I get to look forward too, hmm?" She glanced over at Claire before her grin grew worse. "Let's see just how far your mind has lost itself."

And then, she was gone. Claire was confused about what she was talking about before Vincent had turned to look at her before he jumped. Claire swallowed.

_**~And you take your time  
>And you do your crime<br>Well you made your bed  
>I'm in mine~<strong>_

"**He did what?" Tifa screamed. **

"He didn't do it on purpose!" Claire assured the two of them. "It has something to do with what Hojo did to him!" She lowered her voice. "I tried to dodge him, but he was too fast. It was like he was a whole different person. Right after that claw he wears dug into my shoulder he seemed to regain control of himself and he…he took off. It was like he didn't know what to do…what to say…and now he won't talk to me!" She bit her lip, holding back her tears. "I…I shouldn't have made him come with me. He's in pain because of that damn woman and…and me being there just made it worse!" She lowered her head. "I thought that he had run off but when I saw him this morning, I was so glad. I tried to talk to him, but…he completely ignored me. He didn't even look at me!"

Renee looked at her softly. She wasn't mad at Vincent; she didn't even care about him hurting her. It was the fact that he wasn't talking to her anymore. "Come on ladies," She pulled both the women behind her as they headed inside. "Let's go talk to Mr. Vampire."

"Renee, look! We're here already!" Tifa pointed over the railing and they watched as they approached the snow-covered crater.

"Wow. That was fast. Cid must be teaching that flyer really good." The three of the hurried inside, the problem with Vincent smushed to the back of their heads for the moment

"Their barrier is gone," Cloud sounded surprised as they all stared down into the crater. "Cid! Can the airship get inside?" He asked as the three woman joined them.

"Huh?" the elder man looked up. "He's my student, ain't he! Of course he can go anywhere!"

"Right, sorry about that," The blond scratched the back of his head.

"We've got a problem!" Cait Sith suddenly jumped to his feet.

"Cait! You're all right!" Claire grabbed the cat and began to squeeze it to death.

"We've got a problem!" The cat called out again. "Hojo's gone mad! He's trying to fire the cannon again!"

"Do something about it!" Barret told him.

"We're sunk. Hojo's doing this on his own…"

"Can't you stop the Mako reactor?" Cloud asked him.

"We can't stop it," Cait Sith shook his head.

"You're from ShinRa, ain't ya?" Barret growled. "So why's it impossible!" The cat hung his head.

"We came a long way to get here," Cid joined in. "You better not double-cross us now!"

"I can't make you trust me…" He sighed.

"You damn fool! Don't you understand anything I'm saying?" Cid yelled.

"Back off of him!" Claire told everyone, backing away with the robot in her arms. She smiled at it. "Don't worry, Reeve. I trust you. And so does Jeanne!"

The Cat lifted his head. "But if we shut down the reactor, all hell will break loose!"

"Why can't you shut off the valve?" Renee asked.

"It's east to shut off the pipe valves but the reactor made a path for the energy to escape from below. Once you open that, it'll be impossible to close it until everything blasts out…and we can't try to stop the energy from gushing out."

"An explosion?" Barret cried.

"The blast will be way stronger than when the number 1 reactor blew up!" Cait Sith nodded.

"Damn!" the black man growled.

"But forget about that for now. We need to worry about the cannon. We've got to get to Midgar! Now!" The cat told them.

"Yeah, we gotta stop Hojo first!" Claire agreed, making a fist. "Cloud, call Jeanne. Tell her to make her way to Hojo! Maybe she can hold him off until we get there to kick his ass!" Cait Sith then fell limp in her arms again. "He must have been found," She growled, setting him carefully aside. "Damn bastards."

"On it!" Cloud called to her sister before running down below to grab his phone from their room.

"Cid, get us back as soon as you can." Renee told the man as she ran to go grab her niece before remembering that she had sent her off with the other three women.

"Just calm down, honey," Cid winked. "We'll get there soon. Don't worry."

"You're right," Renee glanced around to see that the others had run off on their own, to get things from their rooms no doubt, leaving just her, Cid, and Vincent. She narrowed her eyes as she walked towards the man in red. "You. Me. Outside." Vincent looked at her in silence for a moment. "Now!" Cid watched in amusement as Vincent just stared at her for a bit longer before slowing moving away.

"What's going on?" Cid asked Renee as she followed him.

"Oh, nothing that you need to worry about. I just gotta teach Vince a few lessons on how to treat women." Renee answered him.

"Can I watch?"

"No."

"Aww."

Renee giggled at the man as she left the room and followed the man in red up to the roof on the outside. He was silent so she brought up what had happened. "Claire told me about the other night." She watched as he stiffened and clench the railing tightly. "About how you came across Lucrecia and Sienna…how you changed and…attacked her." She watched him as he didn't react. She shook her head. "And now you're not talking to her."

"What am I supposed to say?" Vincent demanded, whipping around to glare at the woman. "I'm sorry? I didn't mean to attack you? I lost control of myself? I hurt her! I could have killed her! She…she probably hates me."

"Oh my god, all you men!" Renee hissed. "The only ones that don't complain are Cait Sith and Cid! The rest of you always pity yourself! Cloud over Aerith. Zeke over his cousin. Barret with his daughter. Red Xlll over his grandfather. My freakin' brother. And now you! I am starting to grow tired of it!" She looked at him again. "Why don't you ask Claire's opinion over what happened? If she hates you now because of it then that's her problem! But if she doesn't care, if she doesn't hold it against you, then you're gonna feel like an idiot!"

"How do I start talking to her again, though?" He asked lowly. Renee didn't think that she was supposed to hear that but she did.

"Don't be a chicken! Just start talking to her!" Renee growled. "You, of all people, were not someone that I had been expecting to be childish about talking to someone. Think about what you're doing." They were cut off as the doors burst open and their companions all rushed out, talking and laughing.

"Here," Cid tossed both of them a parachute. "This is gonna be as fun as hell!" He grinned as they pulled them on before he tossed himself over the railing, giving a loud hoot.

Renee and Vincent watched as the others jumped over the railing before they turned back to the other. "Just think about it, Vincent. You'll find out that I'm right." Renee then followed after the others, all heading straight below for Midgar.

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	43. Chapter 40

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Chapter Forty**

**The Beginning**

**Everything was in a panic through Midgar. **People were running around like chickens with their heads cut off as they packed and got ready to try and escape. Jeanne hung her head. There was no way to escape all of this. The only way to save everyone was if she was going to be able to kill Sephiroth and Sienna. She had come to terms with herself. Sephiroth and Sienna were already lost. They weren't going to try and change their minds for her. Sienna might if Sephiroth would, but Sephiroth…Jeanne knew that trying to change him was a complete waste of time. That, and Cloud would never just let him go. Sephiroth and Sienna had destroyed everything and everyone that the Strife twins knew, and there was just no way that they were going to let them walk away alive. She had finally accepted that, hoping that it would make everything easier now that she had accepted that she was going to have to kill her 'parents', but that only made it feel worse.

"Jeanne," the woman glanced over her shoulder to see that Yuffie had run up behind them, shoving something in her pocket. Something told her that it was Materia and from the look on the teen's face, she was right. "What are we doing here, exactly?"

"We're going to go and see if we can save the people that were in the ShinRa tower when Diamond's attack hit it," Myra was the one that answered her. "So keep your eyes open for people as well, understand?" Myra seemed to notice Yuffie's grin as well.

"All right, all right," Yuffie tossed her words aside with that grin still on her face.

Jena didn't say a thing as they continued on their way to the ShinRa tower. All she cared about was getting there and finding Rufus. She prayed that he wasn't hurt, that he hadn't been there during the attack, but there was a small voice in the back of her head that was telling her otherwise. As they continued up the streets and into the tower, no one even bothered to stop them as they were all running away.

The bottom floors of the tower were covered with layers from the top. Yuffie and Myra had stopped several times to help the captured employees that were still there but the Rush sisters just kept on moving until the stairs were blocked off by the smashed floor above them.

"Jena," Jeanne called out to her sister. Jena kept moving until she grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop. "Stop for just one second. Think. Think about where he would be."

Jena wanted to argue but her sister was right. Calming down, she took a breath and began to think when it hit her. "Tseng," She began to hurry back down the stairs and out of the tower. "Tseng would have come and grabbed him the moment that it happened. He wouldn't have left Rufus there."

Jeanne nodded as the trio followed the other woman. They didn't have to go very face to reach what Jeanne was sure was Tseng's home. Jena didn't even wait to knock; she just kicked the door in. five heads turned to the four of them immediately. Tseng had lifted up his gun before giving a sigh of relief and dropping it. The ones with him all calmed down as well; for a moment.

"Where is he?" Jena demanded. They all seemed to know who she was talking about and Elena stood up, walking off into the door behind them all, leaving the door open for Jena as she rushed inside. Jeanne and the other two stayed out in the living room with the others.

"How bad?" Jeanne looked at Tseng.

The man closed his eyes. "The attack splattered all over the upper levels near and in his office. To be honest, I'm surprised that he's still alive." He told her truthfully. "We wouldn't have found him if he hadn't been crawling out of the room on his own."

"That much will to live, huh?" Myra pondered aloud, gazing at the open door. "I'm impressed." She glanced at Jeanne. "How did ya'll heal him?"

"That's the thing," Liana sounded worried as she ran a frustrated hand through her hair. "We haven't. We're doing the best that we can to heal him and make sure he stays okay until we can get the doctor here but…"

"Jena will be able to do something," Jeanne sounded sure of her sister as she closed her eyes. "She might not be able to heal him all the way but she'll be able to do so to an extent to keep him safe and alive until a real doctor comes for him."

"That's what we hoped," Tseng replied. "I knew that she would come the moment that the news reached her."

"She may be with us now," the younger Rush sister told them. "But she's still on your side. We're just going about it in a different way."

"To be honest," Liana began slowly. "I…ShinRa's not what I thought it would be," She glanced at the other women. "It's nothing like the stories of SOLDIER that I heard about, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to stop. But if someone as important to me, as you are to Jena, were to be on the other side…I think that I'd switch over too. Until all of this was over, anyway." She gave a small smile.

Jeanne gave her a smile back before she glanced at the door as Myra closed it behind her. "Yuffie, you can go search for more Materia if you want," She told the teen. "We might be here for a little bit but don't go too far, understand?"

"Got it!" The young ninja gleefully laughed before taking off after the other woman.

"Where are the others?" Rude asked.

"They went to go check out the Crater that you all hit with the Cannon," She replied, taking a seat on the chair across from Tseng and Liana. Rude was standing at the window, gazing out over the destroyed tower and Reno…Reno had disappeared. "They'll be giving us a call when they're on their way back."

"It's almost reached the end," Tseng began silently. "Either we die or we live…"  
>"There's…there's no other choice, is there?" Liana asked her quietly.<p>

Jeanne closed her eyes. "No," She answered her solemnly. "Not anymore."

**Myra** closed the door behind her and leaned against the side of the house, trying to clear her mind of everything that was going on. Part of her wished that she had stayed behind and continued on with her archeology but the other half of her wanted to keep going with Jeanne and the others. Her feelings were all mingled inside of her and at the moment, she just wished that things could go silent.

"You," Myra turned her head. Reno was outside now as well, pausing beside her. "I finally remembered you, Myra."

She smirked. "About time. I was beginning to wonder when it would hit you."

Reno gave his own, small smirk. Myra had been a childhood friend of his before she had run off to become an Archeologist. He hadn't thought about her in years.

"What's the deal with you returning? After all this time?"

Myra shook her head. "There's no real, big reason. I just find this group of Jeanne's interesting, that's all. Besides, the end of the world is right around the corner. Why would I just sit there and watch it happen? Why not take part in it all?" Reno nodded his head, thinking for a moment. "What about you?"

He glanced at her again. "Nothing really. Just the same thing over and over again. Get up, work, and sleep."

"Everyone's life is like that," Myra replied. "But at the moment, things are different. But even if we save it all, everything will just go back to the way it was before."

"I guess that it will, won't it?" He sighed, kicking down at the ground. "Good, all of this is such a pain in the ass. Why can't I just get paid for doing nothing but sleeping and playing video games all day?"

Myra giggled at the man beside her. "I think almost everyone would love to get paid or that, but life doesn't work that way. And from here, everything will just get worse, most likely."

"Everything just gets worse," Reno leaned beside her. "Why can't we ever win?" He asked. Myra stayed silent, no having an answer for him.

**Jeanne's **attention was caught by her phone ringing. "Hello?" She answered it. The Turks left in the room with watched silently.

"_Jeanne!_" The man on the phone sounded relieved.

"Cloud?" She asked. "What is it? Did you find out what happened?"

"_That's not what I called about!" _He sounded rushed and worried. "_Cait Sith just told us that Hojo's trying to fire the rocket at Sephiroth and Sienna again! I'll give them more power and they get any stronger than they are now," _He didn't need to finish what he was saying; she already knew what would happen. "_We're on our way back now, but I'm afraid that we won't get there in time! You and the others have to go and stop them before we get there! Or at least halt him until we get there!"_

"Damn you, Hojo," Jeanne growled. That man just didn't know when to stop, did he? "We're one our way." She flipped the phone shut. "Jena!" It only took a few moment before her sister and Elena stuck their heads out the door. "Hojo's powering up the cannon again. IF he fires it at the crater once more," She shook her head. "We need to go stop him." She turned to the door before glancing back to her sister. "Do you want to stay with him?" She referred to the man in the other room. Jena bit her lip, an unsure look on her face.

"Go," Tseng told his friend. "We'll take care of him," Jena looked up at the man as the other Turks gave her nods. "We'll be waiting for you to return after all of this is over, Jena." He gave her a small smile. "And I'm sure that Rufus will be, too."

Jena wiped her eyes dry. "Thank you. I'll be back as soon as I can be." The elder Rush was outside the door in moments. Jeanne gave the other four a swift nod before taking off after her sister. Myra saw them run out and left Reno with a short goodbye as Yuffie joined them a little down the road as well.

"So, what's exactly going on?" The young ninja called up to the sisters.

"Hojo's being himself," Jena called back. "Sticking his nose in a place that it shouldn't belong!"

"You got that right," Jeanne growled. "We either kill him, or just keep him from firing the cannon until the others get her and Renee can shut the cannon down."

"How do you know that Renee can shut it down?" Myra asked.

"I'm not sure that she can, but she and Cid are mechanics. They might be able to do something," Jeanne answered her. "If they can, we'll-" She fell silent as her sights landed on something to the left of them. She instantly stopped, her anger boiling as the sight of Reeve Tuesti being led through the streets in handcuffs and guarded by Infantrymen. "Get your damn hands off of him!" Jeanne cried. She ran at the two guards and kicked them both in the face, knocking them away from the man in the blue suit.

"Jeanne…" The man sounded surprised.

"Are you all right, Reeve?" She asked him as Yuffie hurried up next to ther to search the two Infantrymen for Materia.

"Yes," Reeve nodded. "You have to get to Hojo!"

"We know!" Yuffie nodded. "We're on our way now!"

"Go and get Cait Sith there with the others, Reeve. We'll take care of the crazy bastard, all right?"

"Right." The man nodded before running off. No doubt to his office.

"Who was that?" Yuffie asked, shoving the orbs into her pockets.

"That's the man that controls Cait Sith, Yuffie." Jena called to her as they continued to run.

"What? Really?"

"Yeah," Jeanne glanced ahead of them towards the large tower that the controls to the Cannon stood on and pulled a firm face. She wasn't going to let Hojo get away with his plans this time!

_**~Hands over my head **_

_**thinking what else could go wrong?  
>Would've stayed in bed, <strong>_

_**how can a day be so long?~**_

**The train tracks were as empty as ever, seeming as how everything was in chaos in Midgar. **Everyone had just taken off their parachutes and crawled down the ladder when-

"Oh no! They're here!" Claire turned immediately to see Reno, Liana, Rude, and Elena standing behind them.

"Dammit!" Renee growled. "Can't you weirdos just leave us alone?" She took notice of the food that was now on the ground, telling her that the group was waiting on them.

"What are we going to do!" The blonde woman asked her companions.

"Elena, don't act so weak." Reno commented.

"We're Turks." Rude told her.

"Yes, sir." The blonde hung her head. "You're right."

"But…" Liana glanced at the other before crossing her own arms. "This is nothing like what I thought it would be…" She frowned.

Rude placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, we've got work to do."

"I'm not really up for it either," Reno commented. "but…"

"Our orders were to seek you out and," Elena shook her head. "Kill. Our company may be in turmoil, but an order's an order. That's the will and spirit of the Turks! Believe it!"

"All right, 'Naruto'," Renee placed her hands on her hips. "If you're gonna do this, then let's do it so we can hurry up and get to Hojo."

"Wait a second," Claire grabbed the other woman. "Let's not. I don't wanna fight them, either.

"You're showing pity!" Elena growled. "Don't take the Turks for fools!"

"Wait, Elena." Reno took a step forward.

"Reno! You're not violating the order…are you!"

"ShinRa's finished." Reno replied. "It's come down to this."

"Maybe…maybe we should go back to Tseng and Rufus," Liana told the three of them. "And take care of them until…until Jena returns."

"Yeah," Rude agreed.

"That's a good idea. Jena will come back, just like she said she would." Reno nodded before turning back to the others. "Farewell. If all of us survive…" He turned and picked his food back up before leaving. Liana and Rude followed him as Elena cried 'Remember the Spirits of the Turks.'

Zeke titled his head to the side. "What the hell just happened?" He asked the woman beside her.

Tifa shook her head before pushing him further down the path. "I have no idea and I don't think I wanna know. Let's just get this all over with! I'm getting tired of all of it."

The others all agreed and they didn't waste any time in hurrying down the tracks, searching for a way out. Cait Sith had decided to join them just moments before they found the exit, explaining to them that Jeanne and the others were on their way to deal with Hojo and that they better hurry if they wanted their own punch at the crazed scientist. At that, Vincent and Zeke both took off, leaving the others to follow after their trails of dust.

Breaking out of the train tracks, Claire let out a sigh of relief as she took in deep breaths. Her eyes instantly searched for the large tower that Cait had told them Hojo and the others would be on and she quickly found it.

"How the hell are we going to get up there?" She asked the others, still breathing hard.

"This ladder," Cloud was breathing a bit hard himself as he moved towards the green object. "Should get us on the same level as the stairs. When we get closer, we can find them there." The others really didn't have any other ideas so they just went with that.

The ground began to shake as Tifa jumped off the ladder. She glanced around to find a large machine stomping behind him. Her eyes grew large.

"Hey-hey!" Cid's voice shook a bit. "You serious!" He demanded.

"What the…hell is that!" Barret growled as they all stared up at the large red and black robot that Heidegger and Scarlet were riding on.

Heidegger gave out his annoying laugh. "So you really showed up! You sure did treat us like dogs up to now!"

"You killed off a lot of my precious soldiers!" Scarlet growled.

"Now let's see how you do against anti-weapon artillery!"

"You guys are worthless, but my proud creation is a sure thing!"

"Shit!" Claire groaned. "We don't have time for this! Hojo's not gonna wait for us!"

"Claire, take a few of the others and go." Renee took a step forward. "The rest of us will stay her and take care of these idiots."

"A-are you sure?" Claire asked her friend.

"Don't worry, we got this." Cid grinned, giving her a thumbs-up. "Just take a few and go."

"All right," She glanced around. "Cloud, Vincent, come with me."

"I'm going too, dammit." Zeke jumped forward. "Hojo's been a pain in my ass since my cousin joined SOLDEIR and now I'm gonna return the favor."

Tifa giggled. "I'm going too."

"Fine. Let's go!" Zeke told them before taking off.

"Are you sure you got this?" Cloud asked them as the others left.

"Just go," Barret told him. "Take care of Tifa for me." The blond nodded before hurrying after the others.

That left Cid, Renee, Barret, Cait Sith, and Red Xlll to deal with the two idiots in the large robot before them.

"I'll show you the destructive power of Proud Clod!" Scarlet screamed.

"'Proud Clod'?" A voice called out. "That's the best name you can come up with?"

"Yuffie! Myra?" Renee cried out as the two women landed beside them. "What are you doing here? Where are Jeanne and Jena?"

"The two of them continued on to Hojo." Myra answered her.

"And we knew that you would need help so, here we are." Yuffie grinned. "I got some new Materia for you to use, Auntie!"

"All right," Renee twirled her hammer in her hands. "Let's get rid of these idiots as fast as we can so we can go help the others!"

The robot was slow but its hits were awful when they hit home. The seven of them jumped around, attacking it in different points before jumping away again to keep from getting hit. Barret wasn't fast enough just once, and it placed a large mark on his side that Renee was sure resulted in a broken rib or two. It wasn't too soon after that that Cid finally grew tired of all of this and decided to throw multiple sticks and stick of dynamite at the joints of the machine.

"Not that!" Scarlet screamed as the robot began to malfunction. "This is the Proud Clod!" They all watched as the machine exploded; before Scarlet and Heidegger got out.

"About time!" Cait Sith cried out in relief. "The two of them were such pains!"

"Well, now that that's done," Renee began.

"Come on! Let's go help the others with Hojo!" Red Xlll told the others as he hurried towards the stairs of the tower.

"Are you all right?" Myra asked Barret. He was holding his side as he moved after the red beast.

"Yeah, I'll be fine for now. I'm not going to let this stop me!" The man told her.

"Barret, if it gets too hard, stop and let me take a look at it." Myra told him. "I know you want to carry this all out, but we'll also need you after all of this. And so will Marlene."

Barret gave her an appreciative look before giving a grin.

**Sorry it took a little while for this chapter to come out. I totally went brain dead at the beginning of it, XD**

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	44. Chapter 41

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Chapter Forty-One**

**The Middle**

"**You bastard,"** Hojo lifted his head at the woman's voice. "I've finally got you."

"Get your hands off the controls, Hojo." A second one said.

"Ah, the Rush sisters," Hojo turned in his chair to face the two of them. "Every time I see the two of you, I…It pains me that I couldn't turn you into Sienna," He commented at Jeanne. "I don't know why, but it wouldn't take over you like it had Cloud and Claire."

"I found that strange myself," Jeanne commented. "But I've figured out why." She grasped the chain around her neck and pulled Sienna's amulet from beneath her shirt. "Sienna refused to let me be used like she had been. She knew how to stop you…but when she realized what you had done to her…to them…she couldn't take it anymore. She hated you with all her soul and now…now all of this has happened. It's all your fault!" She growled at him.

Hojo threw his head back and laughed at her. "Yes, yes, I know. Blame it all on me! But I wouldn't change a thing about it! Except letting you go to Nibelheim. If they hadn't of found the laboratory then none of this would have happened and we would still have control over both of them." He then sighed. "I'm even beginning to hate myself," Hojo gave a dry laugh.

"Just stop this now, dammit!" Jena growled. "All of this is nonsense!"

"Nonsense?" Hojo asked and then laughed. "Sephiroth seems to be counting on the energy, so I'm going to lend him a hand."

"What do you mean?" A voice jumped from behind them and they all turned to the stairs to see that the Strife Twins, Zeke, Tifa, and Vincent had decided to join them.

"Sienna was never wounded." Hojo gave a laugh. "She's stayed with Sephiroth, protecting him and saving him for 7 years! Sephiroth needs this power, and so I'm giving it to him!"

"Why? Why do that?" Cloud demanded.

"Quit asking me why, you moron." Hojo told him. He turned back to the controls. "Hmm. Energy level is at 83%, it's taking too long." He sighed. "My son is in need of power and help. That's the only reason."

"Your son?" Cloud asked.

Hojo gave a laugh. "Although he doesn't know. What will Sephiroth think when he finds out I'm his father? Always looking down on me like that."

"You're wrong." Jeanne shook her head. "Sephiroth knows you're his father."  
>Hojo looked at her in surprise. "What? How?"<p>

"Sienna," She told him. She grabbed the strap to the leather back around her shoulders. "These books told us everything. Sephiroth found out that night in Nibelheim seven years ago…right before the two of them destroyed it." Jeanne dropped the bag. "Sephiroth may be your son, but he's nothing like you!"

"So, Sephiroth really is his son?" Tifa asked in shock.

Vincent hung his head as Hojo gave another laugh. "I offered the woman with my child to Professor Gast's Jenova Project, but he refused him, having already taken a child and using her. So I just made a second one. A better one. When Sephiroth was still in the womb, we took the cells of Jenova." He let out another huge laugh.

"You…" Vincent took a step forward with a roar.

"You're the one behind all of this," Claire clenched her fists.

"The illusionary crime against Sephiroth…" Cloud lowered his head.

"No, you're wrong," Hojo's voice was full of glee. "It's my desire as a scientist!"

"I was wrong," Vincent growled. "The one that should have slept for their sins over all these years…was you, Hojo!"

"I was defeated by my desire to become a scientist," The Professor continued. "I lost the last time as well." He rolled his arm. "Sienna was responsible for that one."

"This is all my fault." Jena took a step forward. "I should have killed you when I had the chance instead of letting all of this happen. Well, no more! I'm not letting you continue with this! Sephiroth and Sienna are my parents," She took another step forward. "And I may not have been able to save them but I'm sure as hell going to be able to keep you from doing it to anyone else!"

"The same goes for me!" Zeke took his own step forward. "Zack would still be alive if you hadn't of done all those damn experiments on him! You're the true bad guy behind all of this, you crazy bastard!"

Hojo glared at all of them as they circled around him. "I've injected Jenova's cells into my own body! Kill me if you can!" His skin exploded out into a nasty green as two strange monsters decided to materialize beside him after he smashed a bottle at his feet.

"Great," Zeke shook his head as he whipped out his weapon. "And to think; I thought this was going to be easy."

"It's never easy," Claire growled, pulling out her own sword. She had been practicing with a gun since their last visit to Cosmo Canyon, but she'd rather but up close and person with this bastard. And it seemed that everyone wanted to be like that. Even Vincent got close enough to shoot him the chest, face to face with the crazy scientist. But with what Hojo had injected himself with, the bullet didn't do too much damage. It took over thirty minutes of stabbing and slashing, shooting and punching before the green man fell to his knees and his two little friends disappeared. They all jumped and watched.

"Watch out!" Jeanne then cried from her place on the controls. "He's transforming!"

This time he was a large monster, much like a lizard-like form that hung over them nearly twenty feet. Tifa's eyes shrunk before she let out a squeal and punched it as hard as she could. Hojo stumbled back a few feet before giving out a large roar; Tifa zipped behind Zeke, who grinned.

"Cloud, Claire," Jena called to the twins. "Cut off its top arm. Jeanne, Vincent, try to take care of its head. Zeke, Tifa, attack it straight on. Keep him busy while I pull out my summon."

"Got it!" Claire grinned. She turned back to face the creature just to get slashed across the chest by its tail. The tail was sharp like blades, slicing into her chest. She was thrown back, her brother catching her. Things seemed to go slowly for a moment as Cloud screamed his sister's name until a large burst of energy made everything fall back into place. It was only seconds later that a large form with wings zoomed past her, heading for Hojo. She lifted her head, watching Vincent in his transformed body as he beat the hell out of Hojo's new form. Tifa winced as blood splattered all over the floor and a roar sounded from Hojo as he dispersed back to his human form, panting and groaning as he dragged himself away from man in red.

"Look!" Vincent growled, stomping after him as he struggled to keep control over his form. "Look at what you've done to me! Look!"

"You are a fool," Hojo laughed at him as blood spilled over his lips. "You think you are the only creation I made with Protomateria inside of you? Gast created Sienna while I created Sephiroth but while Sephiroth moved and learned, Sienna was stuck inside her tube. It wasn't until I placed the Protomateria inside of her that she came to life. She had your blood inside of her, Vincent, so it took to her as kindly as it did to you! Lucretia thought that I didn't know, but I know everything!"

"You don't know anything!" Jeanne's voice was cold as she glared at the crazy scientist. "If you had known something then you wouldn't be this crazed demon, you bastard! Genesis…Angeal…Sienna…Sephiroth…Zack! You destroy everything that you touch!" Vincent glanced at her for a moment.

Hojo gave a snicker. "I'm not done yet!" He dropped another bottle at his feet and a cloud of green smoke appeared. Tifa ran forward to punch him again as he now took the form of a genie-like creature. Its tail stabbed her, knocking her backwards. Zeke caught her.

"Again?" He growled angrily.

"I…I feel so sleepy," Tifa mumbled in his arms. Zeke gave a panicked look as he lightly slapped Tifa's cheeks.

"Get up, Tifa. We gotta fight."

"Get back, everyone!" Jena cried out. Everyone jumped back as the Turk slammed a sliver Materia against the floor. The power that spurred out of it was immense as she screamed out – "Ultimate End!"

The sky above them turned black and figures of men in armor zoomed out at Hojo, slashing him with their blades and fire an ice and stone.

"Knights of the Round," Jeanne whispered aloud as they all watched, Cloud doing his best with the healing Materia on his sister. The Knight of the Round was said to be the strongest Summon Materia on the planet. For her sister to have that…

"Wow," Cloud turned his head to see that Barret and the others had finally joined them. "Not bad," The large, black man grinned as the last Knight hit Hojo before disappearing as the doctor turned back to his human form, slamming against the control panel.

"I take it that you finished the Proud Clod?"

"Of course, or else we wouldn't be here." Myra replied, crossing her arms.

"No," Everyone turned back to the scene before them. Zeke had caught Jeanne's arm, halting her blade. She was moments away from dropping it onto Hojo's head. "Hojo may be the cause of all of this…of everything…of losing Zack and Sienna…and Sephiroth…but it's not our right to kill him. That right belongs too…" Jeanne followed his gaze to Vincent and she lowered her shaking arm.

"If I ever…ever see you again," Jeanne growled. "I will rip your apart myself." She told the dying man.

He stared up at her in silence and watched as she left, leaving Vincent, still in his winged form, took her place. He laughed. "You will never…be able…to control…Chaos," He gasped. "Not without…me…and nor…without…Sienna."

Vincent glared down at him for a moment before giving out a large and long shout. Claire sat up, watching with all the others are the man in red returned to his regular for. He hunched over, breathing hard as he shoved himself to his full height. "My daughter," He growled. "And I have had enough of you!"

"You're daughter?" Hojo sounded insane as he laughed some more. "You don't know anything. She is not your daughter! She was a wretched baby that Gast found in the alleys of Junon!" Jena and Jeanne's heads both popped up before they gazed at the other. "She is a-"

A gunshot fired and it went through the doctor's forehead. He slumped forward on the Control Panel, his blood seeping out over the controls. "My blood…my daughter," the man in red growled. "Even if I haven't met her." He then sighed, cooling his anger. "Hojo," Vincent closed his eyes and holstered his gun. "Rest in peace…"

_**~There rides the rainbow demon  
>on his horse of crimson fire.<br>Black shadows are following closely  
>on the heels of his desire.~<strong>_

"**ShinRa's finished."** Cait Sith sighed. They were all back on the aircraft. Everyone was healed or in the process of being healed as they all gathered in the steering room, talking about what was best to do next.

"Meteor's gonna fall in about…" Cloud began.

"Seven more days," Red Xlll shook his head. "That's what grandfather said."

Jeanne glanced up from the window she was standing at. "This…this might be the last chance that you have to go and see everyone that means something to you," she told them all. "Marlene, Cosmo Canyon, Wutai. Everyone." She clutched the medallion around her neck. "We'll beat Sephiroth and Sienna, but I don't know if we'll be able to release Holy and stop the meteor."

"And even if we don't beat Sephiroth," Cloud began. "We'll just be gone a few days ahead of time."

"Don't say that, you idiot!" Barret growled.

"No, what I meant was…What are we all fighting for? I want us all to understand that. Save the planet…for the future of the planet…Sure, that's all fine." Cloud shrugged. "But really, is that really how it is? For me and my sister, this is a personal feud. We want to beat Sephiroth and Sienna and settle our past. Saving the planet just happens to be a part of that."

"You know," Claire began from her place on the floor, clutching the robotic cat to her. "I've been thinking. We're all fighting for ourselves, aren't we? For ourselves…and that someone…something…whatever it is, that's important to us. That's what we're fighting for. That's why we keep up this battle for the planet."

Barret scratched the back of his head. "You're right. "It sounds cool sayin' it's to save the planet but I was the one who blew up that Mako reactor. Lookin' back on it now, I can see that wasn't the right way to do things. I made a lot of friends and innocent bystanders suffer…at first, it was revenge against ShinRa. For attackin' my town. But now…Yeah. I'm fighting for Marlene. For Marlene and Marlene's future. Yeah…I guess I want to save the planet for Marlene's sake."

"Go and see her," Jena told the man beside her. "Make sure that you've set your head straight and come back.

"All of you. Get off the ship and find out your reasons for yourselves." Cloud told them all. "I want you to make sure. Then I want you to come back."

"Maybe ain't none of us'll come back," Cid decided to say. "Meteor's gonna kill us anyway. Let's just forget any useless struggling!"

"Cid," Renee hissed. She glanced over at her niece who was staring at her feet. She pulled a firm face. "I know why I'm fighting. I'm fighting for the ones I love; for my family, and nothing's gonna make me stop that."

"I won't hold it against you if you don't come back," Jeanne told them all. "Just go and find out."

It wasn't long after that that everyone left the airship. Cid, Renee, and Yuffie went off together. Red Xlll was dropped off at Cosmo Canyon. Zeke dragged Tifa to Gongaga with him. Cait Sith had powered down. Barret went back to Midgar. Vincent disappeared to somewhere, leaving the rush sisters and the Strife Twins on the aircraft. The four of them had nowhere else to go and so they stayed together in silence. Jena went to the room that she and Jeanne now shared for an early night's rest, trying to clear her mind off of what they were going to be doing tomorrow. Claire had walked below to the outside of the ship as the sun set and Cloud was nowhere to be found, leaving Jeanne to herself as she gazed out the window, watching the golden, orange, and red hues of the sunset. The last sunset that she might see.

Everything tumbled on top of her. Memories of everything over the 26 years of her life crashed through her mind. The painful, hungry nights on the streets of Junon. The beatings she and her sister had taken for stealing food to survive. And then Sienna…that Angel that had saved them…

"_You poor things…left here to fend for yourselves…Come with me. I'll take care of you."_

The first time she met Zack…

_"Don't worry, I've got your backs. Just come to me when you need anything."_

The first time she had met Renee and Yuffie…

_"Don't worry Auntie Yuie! I'll protect you from these bad ShinRa meanies!"_

When she first met Zeke…

_"You two lovely ladies wouldn't mind dancing with me and my friend, would you?"_

Genesis…

"_Please, you think those Wutai fools can hurt me?"_

Angeal…

"_You just…need to leave; now. Leave ShinRa before the same thing happens to you. Before you get turned into what I now am."_

When she first met Aerith…

_"I'm Aerith. Aerith Gainsborough."_

When she met the Strife Twins…

_"Me, Cloud, and Claire here are all backwater experts. Oh yeah!" _

When Angeal…Angeal died…

_"Jeanne, in the room I stayed at in Sienna's house…I…left it there…Both of you. Protect your honor. Always."_

When Zack's feelings for her became known…

_"You're sister told me everything. I'm just sorry that I never saw it before and did anything. I've liked you for a while now too, Jeanne. No, I've loved you."_

And then that…that horrible event…Sephiroth and Sienna…found everything…

_"Could it be…that I…we…Were created the same way? Are we the same as these monsters?"_

_"I knew…we both knew, ever since we were children…ever since was first met…we were not like the others. We knew, and could tell about each other, that we were special existences. But this…this is not what I mean."_

"_Am I…a human being?"_

"_Am I?"_

Jeanne clutched her eyes shut as she relived the moment that everything fell apart.

_"Are they…monsters?" Jeanne asked._

_Sephiroth moved away, now standing over Sienna, placing a hand on her head softly. At his touch the throbbing lessened, but it was still there. "Yes. The ShinRa scientist Hojo was the one who created them.""_

_"Abominations spawned by Mako energy…" Sienna stood up. "That's what monsters are." She closed her eyes, her head still hanging. ~That's what I am~ She clenched her teeth. ~Am I…a monster?~_

_"You said 'average' member," Zack said. "What about the two of you?" It seemed that Sephiroth's head was hurting too, and he stumbled forward, clutching it. "Hey! Sephiroth!" Zack tried to help him but was shoved away as the man continued to stumble forward._

_"Could it be…that I…we…" He lowered his hands. "Were created the same way? Are we the same as these monsters?"_

_"What?" Jeanne asked. "You're being foolish, Sephiroth. Both of you. You can't…" She faltered._

_"I knew…we both knew," Sephiroth continued, as if he hadn't heard her. "Ever since we were children…ever since was first met…we were not like the others. We knew, and could tell about each other, that we were special existences." One of the pods opened and one of the blue/red creatures fell out. "But this…this is not what I mean."_

_"Well," Sienna moved from the stairs and placed a hand on the creatures head. "I now know why I didn't have parents. Monsters don't have parents."_

_"Sienna, you're not a monster!" Jeanne yelled, stomping her foot._

_Sephiroth lifted his hands and stared at them. Am I…a human being?"_

_"Am I?" Sienna whispered, gazing down at the creature still._

_"No such luck. You are a monster. Both of you are." Magic was shot out at all four of them, resulting in Zack and Jeanne being hit and blown away while Sephiroth blocked his and Sienna's didn't even hit her. Genesis landed on the set of stairs behind them all. "Sephiroth…you and Sienna were the greatest monsters created by the Jenova project."_

_Sienna didn't want to hear it. Not like this. Sephiroth saw the look on her face and placed a hand on her shoulder._

_"Genesis!" Jeanne looked at the man in red. She was struggling to stand, but it was apparent that Genesis' attack had meant to keep Zack and her out of the way._

_"You are alive!" Zack cried._

_Genesis looked at them with a small smirk. "I suppose I am, if you can call this living." He ran a hand down the side of his face._

_"What is the Jenova Project?" Sephiroth demanded softly._

_"The Jenova project was the term used for all experiments relating to the use of Jenova's cells."_

_"My mother's…cells?" Sephiroth turned, his hand falling from Sienna's shoulder._

_Genesis spread his arms out. "Poor little Sephiroth…you've never actually met your mother. You've only been told her name, no? And you, Sienna, you were never even told that." He sat of the stairs as everyone listened. "I don't know what images you've conjured up in your head, Sephiroth, but…"_

_"Genesis, no!" Zack struggled to stand up too, but couldn't._

_"Jenova was excavated from a 2000-year-old rock layer. She's a monster."_

_Sephiroth gasped and took a step or two back, not knowing what to think. Sienna clenched her eyes shut again. "Stop," She whispered. "Just stop it!" Unable to take it, Sienna burst out of the reactor, running. Sephiroth went to go after her but was caught by Genesis' next words._

_"Sephiroth…I need your help." He continued. "My body is continuing to degrade." He stood again. "SOLDEIR 1st Class Sephiroth!" Sephiroth lifted his head, shock still on his face. "Jenova Project G gave birth to Angeal and monsters like myself," He lifted his arms again, "Jenova Project S…"_

_"S?" Jeanne and Zack echoed._

_"…used the remains of countless failed experiments to create two perfect monsters."_

_Sephiroth looked so sad. To see someone she knew so well like that…it was tearing Jeanne apart. Especially with the way Sienna had left._

_"What do you want of me?" Sephiroth asked._

_"Your traits cannot be copied onto others outside of Sienna and vice-versa. Your genes can't be diffused. Therefore, neither of your bodies can degrade." He took a few steps forward. "Share your cells with me." He looked at the silver-haired man. "My friend, your desire," He held out a dumbapple. "Is the bringer of life, the gift of the goddess."_

_Sephiroth slowly turned, looked at Genesis before gazing up at the door at the top of the stairs. Images of the creatures flashed through his mind. He gave a cold sigh. "Whether your words…" Sephiroth began. "Are lies created to deceive me…to deceive us…" He gazed back to the man in red. "Or the truth, that we have sought all our lives…it makes no difference," He knocked the fruit from Genesis' hands as he narrowed his eyes. Genesis looked surprised. ~For calling her a monster!~ "You will rot." He trailed down the rest of the stairs, going after Sienna._

_Genesis grabbed his hand. "I see…perfect monster, indeed." He began to pace. "When the war of the beasts brings about the worlds end the Goddess descends from the sky. Wings of light and dark spread afar. She guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting."_

After that…everything fell apart. Sienna and Sephiroth were no longer the same…

_"Sienna, stop this! You don't have to do this! Tell me what you found down in that lab and we can work this all out! We can fix it"_

_"No you can't. You can't fix me. I was never…human. You can't turn a monster human, Jeanne!"_

The last time she saw here seven years ago…

_~ "Do you like SOLDEIR?"_

_A young Jeanne glanced up from the puzzle she and Sienna were putting together. "Yeah!" She grinned. "It's a lot of fun! I can't wait to train with you and Sephiroth again! You're both really strong! And Awesome!" ~_

_"Do you…think we're awesome now?" Sienna was standing before Jeanne in a large field of flowers, glancing at her student. Jeanne couldn't speak, silent. "Well?" Sienna demanded, her voice laced with anger._

_Jeanne shook her head. "I…you…" She sighed. "You killed all those people. You tried to kill me and the others. Why? Why did you do it, Sienna?" She gripped her fists and stomped a foot. "You're like a mother to me! And you tried to kill me! Why? Why?"_

_Sienna smirked and kneeled. "These Dragon Fruit flowers were always my favorite. Sephiroth would give me some on my birthday every year. That's why there are so many in my garden behind my house. I hope they're still there. ShinRa better not lay a hand on them." She growled. Jeanne continued to watch her in silence as she picked the flowers. Sienna stood up again and faced her student, the white flowers in her arms._

_"In the lab beneath the ShinRa Manor," She told her student. Jeanne remembered her saying that before. "Hidden beneath the sixth bookcase to the left. Everything that you need answers to will be there." Sienna lowered her head. "I wish…that things could have gone differently with you, Jeanne…but," Things began to fade away. "But I cannot forgive what they have done to me…to us…"_

The night that Zack…Zack proposed to her…

"_Sure, seeing my parents and Zeke was something that I wanted to do, but the real reason I came here was to get something."_

_Jeanne pulled away to turn and look at him. "Get something?"_

_He nodded. "It…it belong to my grandmother once. My grandfather gave it to her…God, it seems like forever ago." Zack reached into his pocket and held his hand out to her._

_Her heart stopped. There was just no way…was there? For him to do something like that at a time like this…it was crazy. Was she dreaming?_

_Sitting in the palm of his hand was a Rose Gold RKhordipour Amethyst Ruby and Diamond Ring._

_Zack smiled at her for a moment before pulling the ring back to him. "Beautiful, isn't it?" He asked quietly as he turned to the side, staring down at it. "My grandmother left it behind for me when I found the one I wanted to give it to myself. So, I finally decided to come back for it." Jeanne knew that he turned back to face her, but she was staring at the ground; eyes wide and breathing hard. She heard his footsteps come closer but she didn't look up. She couldn't. "Jeanne…I know that," As she listened to him fumble his words, Jeanne felt herself growing lightheaded. She felt that something ill was about to happen. And as Zack turned to face her again with a smile and held the ring out to her, his lips moving but no sound coming, she knew she was right._

_Especially as she felt her eyes roll up in the back of her head._

_Too bad the cliff of the waterfall was right behind her._

Then the final time she saw Genesis…

_Wondering what he meant, Jeanne watched as Lazard's body faded into the Lifestream. Zack was silent; watching as the other Angeal Copy dispersed was well. A letter was left behind and Jeanne scowled as Zack picked it up. She didn't need to be smart to know who it was from._

_Aerith._

_She sighed and shook her head though, trying to ignore the thoughts, and turned to Genesis. "Are you…going to be okay?" She asked him. He just gazed at her in silence, thinking. "Don't worry. We'll be leaving soon, and we'll get you to somewhere they can take care of you."_

_He shook his head. "No."_

_"What?" She asked in surprise._

_"I…I don't think I'll be leaving Banora…anytime soon." He told her. Jeanne bit her lip, fighting more tears again. He watched her with a small, sad smile before pulling Sienna's bag off his shoulders. "Take it." Genesis held Sienna's bag out to her. "And my sword."_

_"Yo-your sword?" Jeanne asked in surprise._

_He nodded. "Yes. I won't be needing it any longer."_

_"But, Genesis…" She sighed and took the bag before she opened it. jostling through the books, she pulled out an envelope and reached inside. She pulled one of the medallions out that Angeal had left behind for Sienna, and dropped the chair around Genesis' neck. He looked at her in surprise. "Sienna…Sienna would want you to have it." He smiled and reached an arm forward to pull her into a hug._

_"Thank you." She hugged him back and then pulled away as Zack moved forward and picked Cloud up._

_"Are you sure…that you want to stay here?" Jeanne asked him a final time as she stood._

_"Yes. I…"_

_He didn't need to say anymore. She understood, and with that she picked up his red blade, pulled Claire to her feet, and the two of them moved after Zack, leaving their goodbyes in silence._

And then…finally…the last time she and Zack…

_Zack's scream pulled Jeanne back to reality. The final bullets being fired made her move faster. She saw the three Infantrymen stand over him. With a yell, she rushed forward. Genesis' blade cut through the three bodies like string as the rain started to fall._

_Jeanne dropped her blade and fell to her knees. Her heart was ripping apart. Crawling to Zack, she took his left hand tightly._

_"Zack…"_

_"H-hey…sleepy head." The bleeding man smiled._

_"Why, Zack! I could have helped you! I could've-"_

_"Died with me?" He cut her off._

_Jeanne couldn't fight her tears this time. They won and broke free. She pressed her head against his chest, ignoring the blood. "Yes!" She answered him. "I could've gone with you, Zack! That's why I refused to be a SOLDIER with someone else. You're my partner, Zack. All ways will be. I…I can't go on without you!"_

_Zack smiled and held her head. "Yes you can, Jeanne. I know you can. You have the strength to carry on…I know it. You can't just leave the world in the hands of Shinra. Especially now that…" His voice faltered._

_It was as if a hand gripped Jeanne's heart and squeezed it. Her world was shattering. Sienna…Sephiroth…Angeal…Genesis…they had all been ripped away from her, and now, Zack too. What was she going to do? How could she continue after this? She knew that no matter what medical attention Zack received he wouldn't last. They wouldn't get it to him in time, anyway. She'd even risk letting Hojo be the one that worked on him, and then just kill Hojo afterwards, but it would be no use._

_No one could save Zack now. Not even her._

_~Hey~ Zack's voice floated into Jeanne's head. ~Would you say I became a hero?~_

"You've always been my hero…" She whispered to herself.

"Thinking about Zack?" Jeanne jumped and turned to see Cloud standing behind her in a stone-face. She felt wetness on her cheeks and realized that she had been crying. She wiped them away hurriedly as she turned back to the window.

"About all of them…and about…" She took a breath. "Even Sephiroth has someone he's fighting for," Jeanne sighed, leaning her forehead against the cool glass. "And Sienna as well. They fight to save eachother. To get revenge for what was done to them. God, I…I want to help them…but I can't…I can't let them kill everyone! But…who am I fighting for? Everyone is dead! All of them!"

"I'm not," Cloud's soft voice made her turn back to him. He had stepped closer to her, nearly pinning her against the glass. "I'm still here, Jeanne. And so is Claire. Didn't Zack…didn't he tell you…that the three of us…should stay together?" He leaned in closer. "He told me to take care of you. And that's what I'm going to do." He pulled back from her for a moment. "That day that we met…after the helicopter crashed…I liked you. You seemed to fit in with me and my sister. Zack was my…my best friend but at the same time, as time went on, my rival, too."

"Rival?" Jeanne's voice was softly confused.

"Because of you," He looked back at her. "Because he had you, and I didn't." Jeanne's eyes grew wide. "I know that…that I'm not Zack, and I can never be Zack, but…I can't fight my feelings. I turned to Aerith to try and erase them from my mind and it worked, for a little while. I soon found myself stretched between the both of you, just like Zack had been." Jeanne closed her eyes. She never told Cloud about Zack and Aerith; the woman in pink must have been the one to do so. Or Jena. "I…I didn't know what to do…and I still don't know what to do." Cloud shook his head. "All I know is…is that I…" Cloud struggled to make himself say it, but he couldn't. This was Zack's woman. She still wore his ring. How could he tell her that he loved her?

"You know," Cloud lifted his head to see Jeanne staring out the window again. "I liked you more all those years ago…before the incident at Nibelheim. You were so much more…playful and young, I suppose I could say," she told him. "Now you're…harsh and cruel, most of the time. But at the same time," She closed her eyes. "I suppose you could say that I'm the same now. I don't joke around like I used to. Everything I loved was taken and now…I'm about to go and try to kill the two that mean the most to me. Sephiroth and Sienna. I can't even…even say goodbye to them because I'll begin to cry and I don't know what I'll do after that. I might even…"

"Jeanne," Cloud grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face him again. "When all of this is over I want to do what Zack told me to. I want to take care of you. In any way that you'll let me."

Jeanne stared at him before closing her eyes again. "Cloud, I-"

"If you want me to stop," The blond's breath was on her neck, sending a shiver down her back. "Then just tell me."

Jeanne grabbed the railing behind her as he slid the jacket off her shoulder and his lips touched the crook of her neck. She squeezed her eyes shut as Zack's face traveled before her eyes but at the same time, her heart was thumping in her ears as her blood heated up.

~Zack…what do I do?~

**(FYI, before any of you guys start; NO Jeanne and Cloud DO NOT have sex. They just make out for a little bit! ;) )**

_**~Riding on in the mist of morning  
>no one dared to stand in his way.<br>Possessed by some distant calling.  
>Riding on through night and day.~<br>**_

**The night was cold. **Claire should have gone inside earlier but she just wanted to stay outside for a little longer. She had already come to terms with what she was fighting for. She had walked inside to talk to her brother but she found him and Jeanne in a…heated conversation, and so she just came back outside. She was starting to grow tired though and-

"Claire," The blonde jumped and turned around, her heart rolling rapidly. She calmed herself down at the sight of the man in red.

"Vincent, what are you doing back already?"

"I…I was going to go see Lucrecia," Vincent answered her truthfully as he stared at the rocks beneath them. "But I…I just wanted to stay here…with…with you."

"With me?" She sounded surprised and pleased at the same time.

"Yes. I, I want to apologize to you. About what happened in the cave and for the last few days. I was being-"

"An ass?" She grinned as she shoved her hands happily into her pockets.

He shot her a look. "Yes," He then turned to leave but stopped. "I'm sorry. I was just-"

"Don't apologize," Claire told him softly. "Just don't ignore me like that ever again, all right?"

"All right."

"Promise?"

Vincent looked at her like she was crazy. "What?"

"You gotta promise me, Vince." She answered.

He stared at her for a moment before giving a sigh. "Here," Vincent dropped a chain into Claire's hand. "It's not much, but it's…" He fell quiet then before walking into the aircraft.

Claire watched after him for a moment before lifting up the chain. She smiled. Hanging off of it was the three-headed dog figure that would normally be hanging off of his gun. That must have been his way of promising, right? If so, she accepted it.

_**~Rainbow demon - Pick up your heart and run.~**_

**LOL, don't worry, Claire and Vincent will have A LOT of time together in Dirge of Cerberus ;)**

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	45. Chapter 42

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Chapter Forty-Two**

**The End**

**The Path through the Crater was long and dangerous. **Everyone had returned to the ship and Cid had gone crazy for a moment as he turned the rockets on and took off across the sky. It was only after Renee had smacked him in the back of the head that he let his normal men, who refused to leave the ship, take control again. The travel through the caves were silent, everyone thinking about what was about the happen, what could happen. Jeanne's mind though, was stuck on what happened last night. She clutched the ring Zack had given her to her chest.

Cloud had kissed her…and she had kissed back. Jeanne didn't know what to do. She had admitted to herself that there was something there for Cloud; she had told Vincent that before in Cosmo Canyon that one night. But now that it had actually happened…what was going to become of it? She had no one to ask now. Her sister had her own problems. They all did.

Lifting her hand up to the white feather hanging from her hair, she sighed. Where was Angeal or Sienna when you needed them?

"Jeanne," The woman lifted her head to see that they had come to a stop. "The road splits into two," Jena told her sister.

Jena was right. The path had come to a fork in the road, left and right. She pulled another face. Splitting up at a time like this was and an area like this was not a good idea, but what other choice did they have? One way led to Sephiroth and Sienna, the other didn't. They had to figure out which one and there was just no time at all for them to take one path at a time.

"All right," Zeke took a step forward. "We'll split into two groups. I'll go right, Jeanne, you go left. You other guys pick the sides you want." Zeke walked towards the right path, not even waiting.

"None of you guys die on me. We gotta beat Sephiroth." Cloud told the others.

"I'll destroy that Sephiroth before anyone else gets to him!" Cid exclaimed. Renee slapped him in the back of the head when she saw the expressions on the Rush sisters faces. "I, uh…later!" The man took off after Cid.

Jena shook her head. "I'll go and make sure that Zeke stays on the right path." She told her sister. Jeanne nodded and she walked after the two men.

"Idiot," Renee sighed but she smiled after Cid before walking towards the other path.

"It's all over now, with this…" Vincent gave Claire and nod before following after Renee.

"Oh no, buddy!" Claire grinned, running after him and grabbing his arm. "You ain't going nowhere without me this time!"

"Let's all go back alive, okay?" Tifa told them all before moving after Zeke.

"All life on this planet, indeed the very life of this planet is in our hands," Red Xlll commented.

"Well," Barret sighed. "Looks like this is our last big job!"

"Don't worry," Myra clapped a hand on Barret's shoulder and then rubbed Red Xlll's head as the three of them moved after Tifa. "We'll be all right."

"Oh man…'Materia Hunter Yuffie' sounds like the last chapter of 'Materia Forever'." Yuffie sighed.

"Don't worry Yuffie," Renee called to her niece. "I'll keep you safe." The young ninja grinned at her Aunt before running after her.

"I'm so happy to have met you all," Cait Sith told them all. "And you, Jeanne. I'm glad to have met you…all those years ago. If you hadn't had been here, I don't think that…"

Jeanne smiled and began to walk after the others beside the robotic cat. "We couldn't have gotten here without you either, Reeve. All of you are a part of the reason why we made it this face. All of you."

Cloud watched after Jeanne for a moment, a look of strength on his face. "This will be the end of it!" He told himself quietly before taking off after them all.

Neither of the paths had nothing but monsters for them to quickly get rid of and some Materia that Yuffie happily pounced on for herself. This was the longest part of the journey so far and Zeke's group had to be careful of the crumbling paths they were all walking on and Jeanne's had a little trouble with some lava nearby on their feet. No one got hurt (except for the monsters that Cait Sith and Claire gladly pushed into the lava) and they all found themselves meeting up once again around a large hole in the floor, a path of floating rocks leading them down further to the Planet's Core.

Jeanne stared down into the glowing light. The power was immense as the others stood beside her, taking it in themselves. The green mist was calling to her, letting her know that the two she were looking for were down below, just waiting.

"This is the center of the Planet?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah, I guess it is," Renee leaned down and waved her hand through the mist carefully.

"It's…not what I expected it to be like," Claire admitted.

"What? Expecting fire?" Myra teased.

"Yes, actually." Claire admitted. "But then again, perhaps Sienna froze it and that's why they're down their now."

"How in the hell can you freeze fire?" Zeke looked at her like she was stupid.

"I don't know!" Claire pulled a face.

"Sienna and Sephiroth both of the powers to do incredible things," Jena took her place in the conversation as she closed her eyes. "They both survived in a block of ice in this crater for seven years; Sienna trained the three Weapons and they listen to her every command. I wouldn't even be surprised if she had somehow found a way to freeze fire…or something else waiting on us."

"So, does that mean…Sienna's stronger than Sephiroth?" Yuffie asked, lifting her head. Everyone fell silent, searching their brains.

"We don't know," Jeanne finally broke the silence. "And I don't think we'll ever find out. They both refuse to draw their swords against the other. Angeal told me a story once, about when they were first made into teammates. They were told to fight eachother to see who was the strongest. Instead the two of them sat in the field, staring at the other as if they were talking in silence. When Hojo tried to touch Sephiroth, Sienna would freeze him or whoever else it was. He told me that it was Genesis once. Said it was one of the funniest events between the four of them."

"And why was that?" Tifa asked her.

"Angeal…never really told me," She answered truthfully, shoving her hands into her pockets. "But seeming as how Genesis was always fighting to be Sienna's partner…ideas can pop up with it. Sienna did love to tease when she was younger."

"Still does," Claire mumbled under her breath, bringing up some memories of her own.

"Awright now, let's stop living in the past and just get this over with!" Cid growled.

"This is it." Tifa grinned, but they could tell she was nervous.

"It took long enough to get here," Myra crossed her arms. "Let's just hope that it's worth it."

"This's the last dance!" Barret sounded excited.

"The end…" Jena and Jeanne shared a silent look. ~Here comes the hard part~ they both thought.

"We finally made it here." Red Xlll sounded relieved.

"Hmm…" Vincent glanced at Jeanne and Claire. "Being with you all is not so bad."

"Aww, so sweet of you to say," Renee decided to tease. "And after all your emo-quality, too."

"Well, shall we get going?" Cait Sith asked.

"All right everybody, let's mosey." Cloud told them, deciding to take the step forward.

"Dammit!" Cid growled. "Can't you stop saying it like a wimp? Can't you say 'Move out' or something?"

"Move out?" Cloud asked.

"No, like this!" Claire turned to everyone. "Move your asses, you slowpokes. I wanna get home in time for dinner!" Claire turned to jump into the hole but a large machine jumped out on top of her. It hadn't even pinned her to the ground before Vincent had whipped out his gun and shot it off of her. "What the fuck!"  
>She jumped up and pointed at the now dead thing. "Where the hell did that come from?"<p>

"As I said before," Jena took a step closer to peer down into the hole. "We don't know what they have down there waiting for us." She paused for a moment. "And it sounds like more are coming."

"Cloud," Barret took a step forward this time. "You and the others go. We'll take care of these things."

"What? Who?" Tifa asked the man beside her.

"Claire and Jeanne and Jena. The four of you go. You four are the ones with the biggest deal with Sephiroth and Sienna. The fight is yours."

"Barret's right," Cid spoke up. "You four go on ahead. We'll catch up to you later."

"Is this like a practice run before the real thing?" Tifa wondered aloud.

"Yeah," Cait Sith hung his head. "A major practice run."

"Heh, heh, I'm fine with that." Yuffie grinned. ~It's probably more fun than fighting Sephiroth and Sienna down there.~

"Hmm, this might be fun to pass time." Vincent voiced up. More growls and noises reached them.

"They're coming!" Red Xlll exclaimed. "They're already on the floor next to us!"

"Jeanne, you guys need to hurry up and go!" Zeke told the woman. "I would like to join you guys to help beat Sephiroth a new one, but this fight…this fight isn't mine. So hurry up and do it before we catch up or I WILL join in!"

Jeanne gave a nod and looked at her sister. Both of them were still for a moment before jumping down onto the floating rocks, hurriedly making their way down into the green mist together and carefully. Cloud didn't wait another moment before following.

"Be careful," Claire told them all, her eyes intent on Vincent. The man in red gave her a nod. She paused, giving the others a wave and jumping down onto the floating rocks after her brother.

The path through the blocks of rock wasn't very long. It seemed like the entire place had just been exploded by some ice that now took on the form of the floating paths, giving them the agreement with their ideas. Sephiroth and Sienna were down here. And without a doubt, they were waiting on them.

The final piece of the path was large and just ice. Claire slid as she landed on it but Jeanne grabbed the back of her shirt before she could fall and stabled her. She and Jena had tons of practice with this due to their training with Sienna and Cloud seemed to be doing okay; for the moment.

"Where are we?" The man of the group asked.

"The core," Jena answered him breathlessly. "It's so…"

"What the hell is that?" Claire's voice made them all jump before theirs sights landed on the large ball of…something. As Jeanne took a better look, she pulled a surprised look.

"Jenova," She gasped. The Calamity's body now had her head returned; Sienna and Sephiroth must have given it to her since it had gone with them seven years ago. That must have been why they took her body from ShinRa. She was still armless and legless though and attached to a large, pale skin-like ball, two tentacles taking the place of her arms. She gave a roar as a reply.

"It's coming," Jena growled. They all got ready as the creature zoomed forward to them.

Even though they took down the tentacles several times in a row, they kept regrowing, drawing their attention from the main body. Jeanne got Cloud and Claire to take care of them soon though, leaving Jenova's body to themselves. Jenova got tired of it eventually though and decided to take a drastic measure.

"It's going to explode!" Claire cried out. Cloud instantly threw himself over his sister as Ice spread out over the other two. The area around them shook as Jena could feel the heat of the fire on her skin as she watched the explosion. Jeanne had closed her eyes and the Strife twins crossed their arms over their heads and clenched their eyes shut.

As it eventually faded away, Cloud lifted himself off of Claire as the ice disappeared from in front of the Rush sisters. "Was that Sienna's?" He asked them.

"No," Jeanne shook her head. "When you live with her for nearly 15 years you catch onto some things."

Jena stared at their sister for a moment, that solid, read-less look that she had acquired over the years of being a Turk taking its place there. She didn't like thinking about it, but it was true. As they got older, Jeanne was the one closest to Sienna. Jena had run off and joined the Turks and moved out. Jeanne had stayed with her for years and years before moving out about a month or so before Sienna and Sephiroth had gone mad. Jeanne had done everything for Sienna while Jena had made her own life, so of course she was closer.

Of course she was stronger.

Of course she was her…her legacy.

Sienna left everything to Jeanne, not Jena. That might have infuriated her years ago but now…now she could see why. Jeanne was better than her in all sorts of aspects. In, almost, all of them. She loved her sister to death, wanted to protect her, but now it seemed that she was the one that needed the protecting now.

The Ice shattered beneath and they now found themselves sort of floating in front of a large ball of light that was encrusted with a red rock-like substance.

"Oww…damn, man!" Barret's voice made Jeanne rip her head up to see that everyone had joined them once again, floating in the air on their own as well.

"Barret!" Cloud sounded surprised.

The other's seemed surprised as well. "So everyone's together again…?" The large man asked.

A bright, green light whipped through them all. Jena gave out a grunt. It felt like something had grabbed her wrists and ankles and were pulling on them as hard as they could. But the moment the green light passed, it calmed down, though she could still feel the force. It was then, from the light before them, that a man materialized for them to see.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud growled at the silver-haired man.

"Is this…the true power of Sephiroth?" Barret groaned as the force pulling on them began again. The man hadn't even lifted his sword arm and already they were in trouble.

"My…my body…I can't move it!" Cid groaned as he struggled.

Sephiroth's lips spread out into a foul, evil smirk as the group was hit with another beam. The power behind this one was worse.

"My front legs…my hind legs…my tail's about to tear off!" Red Xlll cried out.

"This is definitely not good," Cait Sith joined in. Lucky bastard wasn't able to feel the pain. Jeanne was surprised that the robot hadn't been destroyed yet. "He's way outta our league."

"How…how are we going to be able to fight him?" Yuffie asked.

"Stop it!" Renee shouted. "Just stop!"

"But why?" It was a voice behind them that answered. "You came here searching for it. Searching for this. Did you think that it was going to be easy?" Everyone glanced over their shoulders to see Sienna had taken a place behind them, a smirk on her face that matched the man in front of them.

"That light," Myra struggled to talk. "It's Holy, isn't it?" Sienna stayed silent.

"Aerith's prayer…it's shining," Cloud spoke.

"Holy…Aerith…" Tifa grunted.

"It's not over yet, Cloud," Zeke called to the blond. "If we've come this far, we're gonna try!"

"Stop," Jeanne had frozen in the air. She was no longer struggling to move like the others were. "Sienna, this is…this is between you and me…and my sister. Leave the others be and just deal with us."

Sienna stared at her for a moment before she narrowed her eyes. The Rush sisters instantly had the relief of the pain and were dropped onto whatever it was that Sienna and Sephiroth were walking on. They couldn't see a floor but the firm feel of it told them that something was there.

"Sephiroth, will you be able to handle the rest?" Sienna called to the silver-haired man.

"The only two I want," His voice replied. "Are the two they tried to turn into us." They all knew that he referred to Cloud and Claire. "The others we will deal with afterwards." He gave a move of his arm and everyone but the four of them were thrown off somewhere.

Jeanne watched as they continued to fly through the air and away before looking at the woman before them again. "You can…you can still stop this, Sienna. Both of you can help us stop this!"

Sienna gave the two other women a snide grin before lowering her head as her sword burst out in her hand, shattering ice everywhere. "Noli manere," She began. Jeanne raised an eyebrow as she and Jena shared a look. "Manere in Memoria," She lifted her head and glared at the two women. "Sephiroth!"

_**~Noli manere, manere in memoria**_

_**Noli manere, manere in memoria**_

_**Sephiroth, Sephiroth~**_

_**~Won't remain, remain in memory**_

_**Won't remain, remain in memory**_

_**Sephiroth, Sephiroth~**_

Sephiroth's form had changed and it made Claire's hand cover her mouth. The sexy, silver-haired man that she had drooled over (come on now, who wouldn't?) when she was in the Infantrymen no longer had that sexy body. Instead, his legs were no longer seen, being replaced by multiple white wings that flowed out of the bottom of his waist. His right arm was a single, dark wing and a set of golden like arms were connected above his head and to his waist.

"Cloud," She sounded very worried.

"Don't be afraid, Claire," Her brother told her, gripping the Buster Blade tightly. "We'll be fine!"

_**~Saevam iram, iram et dolorem**_

_**Saevam iram, iram et dolorem**_

_**Sephiroth, Sephiroth~**_

_**~Raging anger, anger and misery**_

_**Raging anger, anger and misery**_

_**Sephiroth, Sephiroth~**_

"Just stop, Sienna! Please!" Jena cried, ripping the spike of ice out of her thigh. This battle was not pretty. Blood from all three women were splattering everywhere; just more so from the sisters. Though the two of them had sworn to do everything that they could to stop Sienna and Sephiroth, they still couldn't hit her as hard as they could. Sienna was their savior…their mother…their god, if you wanted to go that far into it. Everything that woman asked them to do, they did; just not this. Jena wasn't so sure about what would have happened if she hadn't of met Rufus. And if Zack hadn't of been killed…she don't know what him and her sister would have done.

Jena grunted as a large blow hit her from behind. She felt the thin blade of Sienna's sword slip into her skin before ice folded around it. She was thankful. Jeanne was the one that encased the sword with ice so it wouldn't go any further. If it did…

She was still wounded though. Jeanne let out a ferocious roar as she lunged at Sienna, pushing her back off of her sister and into a duel between the two of them. Jena stumbled back, holding onto her side as she watched the two of them fight above her.

_**~Ferum terribile, terribile fatum~**_

_**~Fierce terror, fierce fate~**_

It might not have been Sephiroth's true form but he was still as fierce as ever. He had grown over the seven years of being here, even without legs, but so had the twins. The wings were like steel and their blades wouldn't do a thing too them; they just bounced off like a ball, forcing Claire and Cloud back to the ground.

"All right," Cloud growled. "We can't get rid of the wings, resulting in the upper body being what we gotta aim for." Cloud told his sister as they both returned to their attacking stances.

"How are we going to get to attack him like that, though?" she asked her brother. Cloud couldn't answer her as they had to jump out of the way of some more attacks. "Claire!" He finally called over Sephiroth's head. "The up and over?"

Claire looked at him like he was an idiot for a second before a smile broke out. There was a tactic that she hadn't heard since BEFORE they had left Nibelheim the first time all those years ago. One of them would hold the enemies attention while the other made the attacks. And seeming as how Claire was the fastest of the two…

"Hey, SEPHIROTH!" Claire threw her hands in the air and waved them, bringing their enemy's attention to her instead of her brother. "What do you call a suicidal freak that's trying to take over the planet?" She paused a moment. "Hojo's son!"

_**~Noli manere, manere in memoria**_

_**Noli manere, manere in memoria**_

_**Sephiroth, Sephiroth~**_

_**~Won't remain, remain in memory**_

_**Won't remain, remain in memory**_

_**Sephiroth, Sephiroth~**_

"Gah!" Jeanne was slammed into the walling, a deep grip on the blade in her stomach. She glanced up, blood spilling from the corner of her mouth as she locked eyes with her teacher. "Please," She continued to implore. She didn't want this to continue. As she begged another time, she watched as the look in Sienna's eyes changed; a tear dribbled from the corner of her eye. "Stop this…before…"

"I…I can't," Siena closed her eyes, clenched her eyes shut. "Watching…watching this done to you…to me doing this to you…to my children…our children…it…it hurts. It hurts Sephiroth too, when he sees the two of you. But after all of this…we can't…I can't-" Sienna couldn't finish. Jena had jumped on her, ripping her away from her sister as her Sais ripping into her skin. Jeanne had the sword pulled from her as the two other women twirled around in the air, fighting and stabbing eachother.

Falling to her knees, Jeanne placed a hand over her stomach wound to try and stop the bleeding like she had with the other wounds she had already received. They didn't heal them all the way, but it was going to keep her from dying…as long as this fighting didn't go on for too much longer.

_**~Veni, mi fili. Veni, mi fili**_

_**Hic veni, da mihi mortem iterum**_

_**Veni, mi fili. Veni, mi fili**_

_**Hic veni, da mihi...~**_

_**~Come, my son. Come, my son**_

_**Come here, give me death once more**_

_**Come, my son. Come, my son**_

_**Come here, give me...~**_

Sephiroth hadn't liked the comment and now Claire was on the run, bleeding from almost every spot on her body; at least that felt like it. Cloud had used his idea and had made some wounds on the other man as well but it didn't seem like he had even felt them because his eyes were glued to the woman that was jumping around the area. Claire found her eyes slipping to Jeanne and Jena as their fight with Sienna traveled around the room as well. She even had to dodge through their fight, dragging Sephiroth around it as well and vice-versa. She was surprised that their fights hadn't just been turned into one, large battle but there were no complaints. If Sephiroth was this much of a pain the in the ass alone something told her that it would quadruple if he and Sienna began to fight together.

_**~Noli manere in memoria**_

_**Saevam iram et dolorem**_

_**Ferum terribile fatum**_

_**Ille iterum veniet~**_

_**~Won't remain in memory**_

_**Raging anger and misery**_

_**Fierce, terrible fate**_

_**The second advent~**_

Jena kicked herself off of the wall, dropping the gun she had shot Sienna with. Not one bullet had hit due to the ice that the woman kept pulling up to block her. The elder Rush had been hoping but it seemed that a fight with Sienna was going to have to stay up close and personal.

Sienna's wounds were horrible but she wouldn't stop moving. It was like she didn't feel any of it and it was starting to annoy Jena. Was this how she had become one of the 1st Class SOLDIERs? Did the wounds she received mean nothing and she just kept going? Was Sephiroth like that too? Come to think of it, Jena had never seem Sienna wounded; ever. Everything just didn't make sense anymore. Half of her was wishing that she could just leave and go back to ShinRa without having to worry about any of this any longer but she knew that that wasn't going to be possible.

_**~Mi fili, veni, veni, veni, mi fili**_

_**Mi fili, veni, veni, veni, mi fili**_

_**Mi fili, veni, veni, veni, mi fili**_

_**Mi fili, veni, veni, veni, mi fili~**_

_**~My son, come, come, come, my son**_

_**My son, come, come, come, my son**_

_**My son, come, come, come, my son**_

_**My son, come, come, come, my son~**_

Sephiroth was starting to annoy the Strife twins now. He was no longer chasing Claire down, having caught onto their plan, and he wasn't falling into any more of their tricks. How in the hell were they supposed to kill this guy off? He was like…like a god or something! It wasn't fair! Both of them were searching their brains, even as they were hit with one of his attacks, and finally, not too long after, the sister came up with something new.

"I have a plan, Cloud," Claire dodged out of the way of another attack. "You're going to have to put everything that we have into it and pray to the planet that it's going to work or else we're screwed and left with nothing." He brother nodded, having nothing else to go off with. It was either continue dodging or go down with flare now that everything was coming to an end.

_**~Mi fili, veni, veni, veni, mi fili**_

_**(Qui mortem invitavis)**_

_**Mi fili, veni, veni, veni, mi fili**_

_**(Poena funesta natus)~**_

_**~My son, come, come, come, my son**_

_**(By death's invitation)**_

_**My son, come, come, come, my son**_

_**(Painful tainted birth)~**_

Sienna let out a gasp as Genesis' blade slid in through the back of her stomach. She had been standing over Jena, about to deal the final blow to the elder of the Rush sisters but Jeanne wasn't going to let this happen. Jeanne gave a growl as she lifted Sienna over her head with her blade and tossed her over her shoulder, away from her sister. Sienna landed on her feet but then dropped to the floor, holding her hands over her stomach.

"This," The elder woman glanced up at Jeanne as she stood over her, pointing her blade at her. Genesis' blade. The sight of that red object brought back nay memories. Many memories that she cherished and wished to keep forever… "This is the end, Sienna."

And keep forever, it seemed would be impossible.

_**~Mi fili, veni, veni, veni, mi fili**_

_**(Noli nomen vocare)**_

_**Mi fili, veni, veni, veni, mi fili**_

_**(Ille iterum veniet)~**_

_**~My son, come, come, come, my son**_

_**(Won't call the name)**_

_**My son, come, come, come, my son**_

_**(The second advent)~**_

Cloud found himself glancing at Jeanne for a quick moment and anger burst through in a new flame in his chest. She was covered in blood. Her clothes were in shreds. He had to finish this quickly so that he could save her! He and Claire had to do this and do it now. He prayed to whoever was upstairs that this was going to work.

"Ready?" Claire called to her brother.

"Ready."

Locking their arms together, the Strife twins swung at Sephiroth, their sword slicing between his waist and the wings, severing the man in half. The silver-haired man gave out a huge, crushing roar as he was split in two.

_**~Sephiroth, **_

_**Sephiroth**_

_**Sephiroth~**_

"SEPHIROTH!" Sienna's scream caught Jena off guard. Here this woman was bleeding, half dead already, and still she cared more about the outcome of her man. She was more worried about Sephiroth than she was herself. "No!" She went to run to the other battle but Jena popped up, knocking the woman back to the floor. She tried to stand back up but she couldn't. she crumbled back to the pool of blood beneath her.

Sienna grinned and then coughed, splattering more blood all over the place. "If you still," Her breathing was harsh. "Consider me to be your savior, Jeanne," She glanced up at the young woman. "Then do me one last favor. My final order." She gazed back down at the sword. "Send me after him…After Sephiroth."

Jeanne glared at her for a moment before lifting her sword above her head. She clenched her eyes shut as she went to bring it down; she stopped herself and fell to her knees instead. "I can't…" Genesis' blade fell from her hands as she stared at the woman in front of her. "I refuse. I WILL NOT KILL MY MOTHER!" She let her control go and hunched over, burying her face in her hands. "I thought that I could…could talk you out of doing this but I was wrong. I was wrong and I swore that I would stop you but I just…I just can't!"

Jena stared at her sister, trying to hold back her tears. She had been a Turk for over ten years so she could, though her own tears were screaming to be let loose. Instead, she wrapped an arm around Jeanne's shoulders, grabbed her sword, and lifted her up. "This is over, Sienna. There's nothing that you can do now. Even if we were to try and heal you, you would still die," Her voice was plain as she fought her hardest to keep her emotions inside. "There's nothing more that you can do. Say…say your goodbyes and go…go and join them." She pulled her sister away from the other woman and towards the others.

Sienna didn't look up at them; she just stared at her hands. "Heh," she said softly. "I…I trained my daughters well." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "But I'm…We're not done yet! I'm going to get revenge, one way or another. For me. For Sephiroth. Genesis. Angeal! For all of us!"

"This is all we could do," Cloud hung his head.

"Wait! What about Holy? What's gonna happen to the planet?" Barret demanded.

"We…we don't know," Claire answered him. "Isn't…isn't the planet going to be the one that chooses what happens next?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Myra scratched the back of her head. "But…"

"We've done all that we can," Tifa placed a hand on her shoulder.

"All right, guys," Zeke took a step forward. "Let's get the hell out of here."

Yuffie turned and grinned at her Aunt. "Let's go home."

Renee rubbed her hand in her head before folding her arms behind her own. "That sounds good to me."

Everyone began to walk away but Jeanne paused, having a strange feeling in her stomach. Cloud stopped as well, his face contorted. "You feel it too?" She asked him.

"Yeah," Cloud grabbed the Buster Blade again. "It's not over just yet." It was then like something had control over his body again. He was trying to fight it off as Jeanne watched. "He is still…here." Cloud gripped his head and fell to his knees.

"What's wrong, Jeanne?" Jena called out to her sister.

"Stop!" Jeanne threw her hand out, stopping everyone else from coming back. "Stay back!"

"He's…laughing…" Cloud groaned.

"Cloud!" Jeanne then felt like something hard hit her in the back of the head. She slumped forward onto her own knees. The next thing she knew, she was flying. Almost like a falling star down a dark path. Cloud was beside her, silent as he endured the ride. She didn't want to watch where they were headed, but when she felt the air turn cold she had to. They were in the middle of a black vortex with scattered spikes of ice. Sephiroth and Sienna stood in the center of it, glaring up at them. Sienna still had blood pouring off of her while Sephiroth was (drool!) shirtless and staring up at them in anger. Jeanne knew that the look was more for her than Cloud; and she knew that by the wounded woman beside the silver-haired man.

Cloud moved first, screaming out "OMNISLASH!" He wasn't going to stand by any longer. Jeanne turned her face away as the slashes cut through Sephiroth. Sienna's scream made her turn though. The woman jumped at Cloud but Jeanne blocked her, sending another stab sliding through her chest. Both were dying, but neither of them refused to let the other go. Sephiroth, wounded and everything, jumped to Sienna and kicked Jeanne away from her, removing Genesis' blade. Jeanne watched as the two wounded ex-SOLDIERs wrapped their arms around eachother as their bodies let out bright lights and dispersed together.

Jeanne's tears finally broke free as she watched them leave her. That was…she did that. She had killed them…and they might not have even saved the planet. How in the hell were they going to save it from the Meteor? With Sienna and Sephiroth's help they could have forced it back somehow; they were the ones that called it here after all. If not, Sephiroth and Sienna could have combined their strength to shatter the giant rock. Two of the Omegas were still running around somewhere and she was sure that Sienna would have gotten them to help as well. But not anymore. All hope for them were gone now, shattered with the two people that she loved the most on this planet. Maybe now…their group would be complete on the other side. Maybe…Genesis and Angeal we waiting for them…and Zack, too. Maybe…just maybe…

The Lifestream moved beneath them and two, separate bright lights shone down upon them. Shielding her eyes, Jeanne looked up at the one that pointed at her and felt her breath catch. There was a hand reaching down to her. She didn't have to think twice about whose it was before she jumped out and grabbed it.

"_It's fine,"_ A soft, male voice told her. _"You don't…don't have to stay alone anymore."_

The light disappeared and Jeanne regained consciousness to see that she had grabbed Jena's hand. They were back in the pit of the Planet, the rocks crumbling all around them. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Cloud reaching for Claire's hand as she held it out to him.

Trying to ignore the blood that was beginning to break through the ice Jeanne had placed on both herself and her sister, Jeanne pulled herself up to the cliff beside Cloud and Claire with her sister's help. Cloud and Claire were just as badly wounded as the two of them and so the younger Rush sister used what was left of her strength to stretch ice across as much of the wounds as she could. Claire complained about it being cold but fell silent as they all waited for the end.

"I think I'm beginning to understand," Cloud began as the four of them clutched to the wall behind them.

"What?" Claire raised an eyebrow.

"An answer from the Planet…the Promised Land…I think I can meet her…there." Cloud looked at all of them. "And not just her," He locked eyes with Jeanne. "all of them."

She stared at him for a moment before another stream of tears fought to break free. "Yeah," She leaned her head on his shoulder. "We can, can't we? They're all waiting on us…" She sighed.

"Where are the others?" Cloud asked after a moment of silence.

"Heeey!" They all turned to see that it was Barret that had been calling them. The group was scattered all around the little rocks of their own, grins of their faces as they all waved. Even Vincent had a small grin of his own.

"It's good that you're all safe," Tifa called to them with a wave.

"The same to you," Claire replied with a wave of her own.

"But…now what are we going to do?" Barret asked the man beside him.

Cid took a drag from his cigarette as Red Xlll was the one to reply. "Holy should be moving soon, and that means this place will…"

"Oh Lady Luck," Cid gazed above them. "Don't fail me now." The area began to shake again just moments later and it made Cid's mouth drop open. His cigarette burned his leg and he gave a curse as he jumped to his feet. The entire ceiling was crumbling down upon them. Cloud immediately went to cover Jeanne but she moved first, creating a table of ice above not only them but the rest of the others as well.

"Look!" Renee cried out, pointing towards the ceiling. Everyone's mouth dropped open. The aircraft was falling down with the rocks!

"There's no fuckin' way," Zeke sounded amazed.

"I'm not about to question it!" Myra replied in excitement. They might just get out of this after all.

None of them wasted any time jumping into the ship. It was just in time. The white light of Holy blasted out of the crater, shooting the aircraft into the air again. Cid was working to get the engines working again as everyone flew around the area, trying to kill themselves as the ship headed for land at a dangerous speed. Vincent grabbed Claire quickly and held onto the railing. They all seemed to take in his move and copied him.

"Shit!" Cid growled as he clung to the floor. He reached for the emergency lever and pulled it as hard as he could. The engines kicked in and they took shooting off into the sky.

_**~Won't remain in memory**_

_**Raging anger and misery**_

_**Fierce, terrible fate**_

_**The second advent~**_

**Everyone on the planet watched as the Meteor came closer and closer to Midgar.** Jeanne paused for a moment as she closed the car door behind the child and it took off. They hadn't been able to get everyone out of Midgar. They didn't have enough time. This was the end of it all. They had fought so hard against Sephiroth and Sienna but still…they had still lost.

Red-like twisters began to rip Midgar apart. Jeanne watched the screaming bodies be snatched up by them but she didn't have time to worry about them as she turned to run so she couldn't get caught by it. A rope dropped down in front of her, and she didn't waste any time in climbing into the ship as it took off from Midgar.

"You all right?" Jena asked her sister the moment she joined them all in the main room.

"Yeah," She answered, worry in her voice. The four of them were still wounded from the fight a bit, but nowhere near as bad as they were 12 hours before. Tifa tried to heal them as best as she could but they had to stop to try and help Midgar evacuate. They did all that they could and now they just had to wait to see what fate was going to give them.

"Hey, look at that!" Zeke's voice brought everyone's attention to the window.

The light of Holy shot towards them, ramming into the Meteor. It cut the storm off but it still didn't seem to have enough power as the large, red danger continued its path through it and finishing its destruction on it.

"Wait a damn minute." Barret watched in fear. "What's going to happen to Midgar?"

"What do you think?" Zeke scowled.

"We can't let that happen!" He cried, slamming his hand on the railing.

"Everyone's in the Slums or outside of the city," Cait Sith told him. "We've done all that we can."

"It's too late for Holy," Red Xlll commented. "Meteor is approaching the Planet."

"Holy's just making it stronger," Myra shook her head as he gripped knuckles turned a deathly white. "Midgar won't be the only thing that's in trouble."

"What's that!" Tifa cried out. Everyone immediately looked to where she was pointing at.

"Oh my god," Jena's eyes widened. "I don't believe it."

"What is it?" Renee asked her.

"It's the Lifestream," Jeanne answered her. "The Planet's taking its turn."

The green streams of the Lifestream burst slowly from the ground in different strands, heading towards Meteor and Holy across the land. It landed in Midgar lake a wave from the sea on all sides, overflowing the immense power and calming it down; destroying it before it could do anymore damage. Everyone clenched their eyes shut as the bright light burst forward. Jeanne watched though, as Aerith's face appeared in her mind the day that she died. The day she had died, praying for the Planet to save itself from Meteor.

**OMG, IT MADE ME CRY! WHY SEPHIROTH? WHY?**

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	46. Epilogue

**I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 7 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(**

**Epilogue**

**Many people died that day. **The ones that couldn't make it out of Midgar were the worst of it all. Many were still alive though due to the lengths that the 15 of them all went through. It had been a year and a half since the events of ShinRa and the Meteor and everything had finally settled down to normal…except for the groups.

Midgar had been destroyed and so, a new city was rebuilt beside it, known as Edge. But when the Lifestream had burst forth to save them from the Meteor, parts of it grew infected with Jenova cells. The people who came into contact with the Lifestream after that were tainted with what was now known as Geostigma. Some believe that it was still the 'Will of Sephiroth' that made them gain it while Rufus Shinra stated that the public believed that Mako energy was the cause of the disease. Many were infected with it, including the Rush and Strife Siblings.

The group was almost all in contact still, the events that they had gone through never to leave them behind, or alone again.

Cid and Renee had returned to Rocket Town, continuing on with their aircrafts. The two of them had finally married, about 4 months ago, and everyone had been invited to watch as Renee walked down the aisle in a white and golden perfection…until Cid chased Yuffie for stealing some of his Materia.

Yuffie was still her thieving little self, just older. She was still trying to bring Wutai back to full power and went to her Aunt's side in her spare time, despite Cid's anger with that problem.

Red Xlll returned to his grandfather and friends in Cosmo Canyon, taking up the roll of Guardian just like his father had years before. Whenever any of them passed by Cosmo Canyon they would stop for a day or two to visit their little red friend.

Myra had returned to her archeological dig, continuing on with her enjoyment with the past. Zeke was still her number one man, but he took breaks now to spend time with his family and friends. Myra understood that, seeming as how a certain red-headed Turk would come by every other week and the two of them would disappear for a few hours; sometimes even longer.

Barret had gone off as a digger himself, but for oil instead. He was going to make Marlene's life as good as he could and so, he used what he had to do so. Marlene had been left behind in Edge with the others but he would call her and visit her just like a good father would.

Cait Sith, or, Reeve, was now busy bringing together a group called WRO to try and help with the regeneration of the world but it was still on its first level as Edge was still shaky with the Geostigma.

Vincent hadn't been seen since the end of the attack except once. It was at Cid and Renee's wedding. He didn't say much, as usual, but Claire still took her place beside him. She had even, somehow, talked a dance out of him before he disappeared again.

Zeke and Tifa had come to an agreement with their relationship. When Zeke wasn't working at Myra's dig site, he was in Edge with Tifa, Marlene, and a young boy named Denzel. Tifa was running a delivery surface now with Claire and Cloud being the messengers.

Jena had returned to the Turks to everyone's enjoyment. ShinRa was not being remade but the Turks were still Rufus' bodyguards. The man was fine, but infected with the Geostigma himself. Liana and Jena were now partners as Elena was turned to Tseng's and Reno and Rude were never separated longer than a few hours. Rufus was still hurt from the explosion but his wounds were well on their way to healing.

Claire and Jeanne had returned to their previous life. The two of them lived together right beside Tifa and Zeke. Jeanne had agreed to join Reeve's WRO when it was finished and Claire was a delivery girl now. But Cloud…Cloud still blamed himself for everything. He had tried to live with his sister and Jeanne for a while but in the end he resigned himself into the ruins of Midgar, taking bed inside of what was left of Aerith's church. Jeanne didn't like the idea but there was nothing that she could say. Cloud had waited almost three years for her to get over Zack's death. She was going to have to wait until he was finally over Aerith's, no matter how long it took.

Yes, everything was in a calm state; for a moment.

Jeanne was reading a book from the lamp on her desk as the moon shone bright in the sky. She was smiling to herself, trying to guess what was going to happen next when her phone went off. She frowned, since it was nearly two in the morning, and answered it,

"Hello?" She asked in a half surprised, half annoyed voice.

"_Jeanne?"_ Tifa's voice sounded so excited as she squealed like a little girl.

"Tifa? What is it? Is something wrong with the kids?"

"_No, no, everything's fine! It's just…just_!" She sounded so breathless.

"_Damn, just tell her already!"_ Zeke's voice made Jeanne raise an eyebrow. When had he returned from the Bone Village? And why hadn't she known? He hadn't been there earlier because she had gone to play with the children.

"Oh, Jeanne, Jeanne! Zeke asked me to marry him!" Tifa squealed like an excited little girl.

Jeanne let the words hit her before her mouth dropped open and the phone dropped to the floor, cutting the call off as the elder woman took off down the hall and towards the other house before kicking the door open and jumping on the other woman that had been waiting for her. Zeke was sitting at the bar as the two women squealed and talked and jumped around the room, all three of them wearing large grins.

Well, it had been in a calm state.

Added by FF-Suzaku

_**~TO BE CONTINUED IN~**_

_**FINAL FANTASY VII: Advent Children**_

**PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	47. Here's some info

OMG! IT'S FINALLY OVER! I SO WANNA WRITE IT AGAN!

I hope you guys liked it. This was my favorite story so far and it's still not done yet! Advent Children is right around the corner and then Dirge of Cerberus will be written after that. Add this to your faves and I will update you guys on when the Movie will begin!

For some Info for you Sephiroth/Sienna fans, I have TWO stories after Dirge of Cerberus planned for them. One is about their Past with Genesis and Angeal and before they met Jeanne and Jena so all the information about their past will be reveal and the second one, well, that's a surprise for you guys. Just give me some time and keep them in mind!

Now, while we're waiting for Dirge of Cerberus to begin, I'm going to be doing another Video Game for you guys. Here's a list of their orders :)

**Fire Emblem : Sacred Stones**: The best Fire Emblem game in my opinion, though Path of Radiance is a very, very close second. Even if you haven't heard of Fire Emblem before (like a certain someone I know) you should still check it out. It's really really cool

**Final Fantasy 7**: **Dirge of Cerberus: **This will begin right after Advent Children is completed so if you wanna stay in contact with the FF7 group, go to the movie, which I'm sure most of you will!

**Tale of Symphonia**: Another good game that I'm sure that I'm going to enjoy writing. I love playing it, so I'm sure it'll be awesome! I don't know if I'm going to continue the story into TOS 2 or not since I haven't played it yet, but if I do, I will let you know.

**Custom Robo**: Another cute little game that I enjoy. If you're a fan of comedy, fighting, and(sometimes) sheer stupidity, come back and check this out.

**Final Fantasy 8**: Ah, yes, the next FF of the series. I chose to do FF7 and FF8 of the series' first so I could do Kingdom Hearts. That's right baby, Jeanne and the others, and the ones you'll meet in number 8, are coming back for Kingdom Hearts! Whoo! They'll be back for Dissadia as well when I get to it, but I have to do all the other FF games first, :p

**Batman**: Arkham Asylum: When I first started my Fanfictions I DID NOT plan to do a Batman love story but when I let my little brother, HiddenXIntent, talk me into playing this I fell in love with it. You guys like a little superhero romance, right? ;)

**Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep: **The beginning of Kingdom Hearts is finally here! Can't wait for it! Can't wait to get to number 1 the most though!

**Resident Evil:** Ahh yes, the Zombies will finally be introduced to my psycho world of fanfiction. You all love RE, don't ya?

**Final Fantasy 1:** the first of the FF series and one of the best. All you Warrior of Light fans out there better get ready! Kira's gonna knock Light's head around time and time again! ;)

**Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening: **You guys didn't think that I was going to leave our sexy and funny half-breed out, did ya? Dante and Vergil will be coming, with a spicy little Ryona between them.

Those are just a few that I have planned. The rest of the FF games and series I will be doing, Legend of Zelda and Legend of Dragoon and Mass Effect/ Dragon Age are included in the future of my fanfictions.

Again, thank you guys so much for reading this and I hope that you all enjoyed it just as much as I did! I hope to see you all again whether it's in my games, my movies, or my anime!

XOXO,

HiddenXEmotion


	48. Guess what, guys?

FINAL FANTASY ADVENT CHILDREN HAS BEGUN!

I can't wait to get this rolling guys! Check it out!


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